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Australia's Carp Herpes Plan Dubbed 'serious Risk To Global Food Security'


Drop Bear

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I found this interesting. 

I'd love to see carp and other noxious species removed form our waterways but at what cost?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/24/australias-carp-herpes-plan-dubbed-serious-risk-to-global-food-security

“Carp is one of the most farmed fish in the world and an important source of protein in lower to middle income countries, so is vital to food security.”

“This virus is now found in almost every river and lake system in Japan, and in another 32 countries,” he told Guardian Australia. “Despite that, the only species that this virus has been detected to cause disease in is the common carp.

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There are 2 points in the article worth noting..

1/ quote { “This virus is now found in almost every river and lake system in Japan, and in another 32 countries,” he told Guardian Australia. Despite that, the only species that this virus has been detected to cause disease in is the common carp. In these countries they are sharing a waterway with other species of koi, very closely related to the common carp, and those other species haven’t contracted the virus.

Barwick said he did not believe it would threaten global food security, because all the countries that relied on carp as an aquaculture species already had the virus.}

2/ quote { It is not farmed for food purposes in Australia and cannot be traded with other countries, due to Australia’s tough biosecurity laws. There is some commercial farming of ornamental koi, which are the same species as the common carp and are therefore susceptible to the virus.

Latrobe University senior ecology lecturer Dr Susan Lawler, who is based on the Murray River, said Lighten and van Oosterhout “don’t understand the Australian perspective”.

“The reason they are terrified of it going wrong is because they don’t understand how terrified we are that all the native fish in Australia are going to die off because of carp,” Lawler said. “There’s an ecological disaster going on right now.”}

BUT I must admit, if Barnaby Joyce is all for it, one may need to be concerned. :lol:

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