Up to 1000 carp to be removed from waterways during Western Downs fishing event

Anglers across the Western Downs will be casting for a cause this month in an effort to reduce carp number in the region’s waterways.

Western Downs Carp fishing event

Anglers are aiming to remove more than 1000 noxious fish from Western Downs waterways during this months’ Dalby Carp Busting Fishing Event.

Taking place from November 23-24 and held at the Dalby Tourist park ,the family friendly event will encourage fishers to catch the invasive species and protect local waterways.

Western Downs Carp fishing event

Miles District Fishing & Recreation Club president Peter Delaforce said the event had been running for five years targeting carp in the Western Downs.

“We are trying to pull as many carp as we can out of the water, we record, weigh and measure them and all that information goes back to biosecurity and Queensland Fisheries so they get an idea on how many carp are out this way,” he said.

“Last year we ran three rounds in Miles, Chinchilla and Dalby, whereas this year we will base it in Dalby, but people can fish anywhere in the Western Downs.

“We did a club trip last weekend in Chinchilla and caught 350 overnight and that was just a few people and being a bigger event and open to the whole Western Downs we are thinking it will be up around 1000.

“From the young kids to the oldies, anyone who loves fishing it gets them out for the weekend.”

Western Downs Carp fishing event

Mr Delaforce said the invasive species were detrimental to native fish and waterways.

“They compete against the native fish, the carp will go in and dig through all the mud and the weed so the quality of water is diminished quite a bit hence the really muddy outlook because they dig up the roots so there is no vegetation to hold the soil in place,” he said.

“They also compete with fish like eel-tailed catfish that also look for feed in the banks, where you have big numbers of carp your native population drops same with the yellow bellies and silver perch.”

Western Downs Carp fishing event

Mr Delaforce said the event was also helpful for monitoring carp numbers in the region.

“We have been recording data for a few years which we have been handing over because on an Australia-wide level they are looking at ways of how to get rid of carp,” he said.

“One of those is the herpes virus, but there are a lot of side effects, once you’ve released it will kill most of the carp but those that survive when they start breeding will be immune to it, the other ways to do that is trapping, carp busting events and electro fishing.

“They will use the data to see how many carp are in the area, whether they are increasing or decreasing over the years, we record where each catch comes from and give them a bit of a map and that helps them with their planning.

“Mile Creek in Dalby used to be really bad bit they put a lot of effort into repairs so the carp numbers have dropped, but once you get into Condamine they are thick.”

Western Downs Carp fishing event

Mr Delaforce said there would be something for everyone at the event.

“For the kids there will be prizes for the first 30 entries, on the Saturday night we will give away three kayaks, then we do a series of lucky entry draws on the Saturday then on the Sunday we have the prize category for the largest carp, the largest six and for all the little kids it is all mystery sizes so every kid will win something,” he said.

“In the past we get a lot of carp around the 50cm but you will also get them around the 80-90cm and are around 8-9kg fish.

“It’s a way to get the younger generation to understand the difference between the native and noxious fish and they will be able to appreciate years after doing these things that the water quality will change.

“We’d love to get the schools involved, they can pre sign up or sign up on the day and it will all be run from the Dalby Tourist Park.”

People can sign up here.