Virus funding: Carp plan on brink

PLANS to unleash a virus to eradicate carp from Australia’s rivers have hit a snag, with a feared shortfall in the National Carp Control Plan’s research budget.

PLANS to unleash a virus to eradicate carp from Australia’s rivers have hit a snag, with a feared shortfall in the National Carp Control Plan’s research budget.

It comes as it was revealed the Federal Government has promised almost $4 million to help implement the controversial koi herpes virus — despite there being no final decision on whether the virus should, or will, be used.

Sources have told The Weekly Times that the money is needed to finish vital research — and that the entire project is at risk without it.

Sources say the shortfall means any proposal to deliver the carp virus will be “underdone”, with gaps in the research — leading some to fear the virus’s implementation will have to be delayed, or outright rejected.

The $15 million carp control project has until the end of this year to develop a plan for the controlled release of the carp virus in a bid to wipe out the pest fish.

The Government will make the final decision on whether it goes ahead, based on the proposal.

Department of Agriculture officials told Senate estimates last week that $4.24 million of the $15 million budget has gone to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science — including $3.7 million to “help with implementation should the plan go ahead”.

It’s understood those developing the plan discussed the funding allocation in a meeting in Adelaide last week, with many fearing much-needed projects — from scientific research to community consultations — cannot be completed without the full $15 million.

One source questioned why money should be allocated to implementation when a decision was yet to be made on the virus.

“Having a robust plan and making sure the risks are understood, and making sure there is a complete scientific basis, is essential,” one source said.

Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford questioned why $4 million “appears to have been redirected”.

“I am worried about the proposed funding cuts to scientific research that’s needed to underpin the plan,” Ms Pulford said.

However, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said there had been no change to the plan’s funding amount or allocation.

The proposal to use the carp virus as biocontrol is controversial, with international academics raising concern the virus could mutate, or lead to ecosystem crashes due to huge volumes of dead fish in the rivers.

The plan’s co-ordinator Matt Barwick told Senate estimates it was a “fairly new dimension of carp control — no one has ever done this before in the world”.