Rising house prices and a mortgage crunch push average first-time buyer deposits up £11,000 to £57,000... but could 2021 be a better time to buy? Australian scientists plan to release a herpes virus into the Murray River in South Australia to kill millions of European carp fish. Sexual assault survivor and advocate Grace Tame named 2021 Australian of the Year, Journalist Kerry O'Brien rejects Australia Day honour in protest over 'divisive' Margaret Court award. The Sunday Telegraph has reported the virus is an Indonesian strain of 'carp herpes' that only affects European carp. The NSW Department of Primary Industries' (DPI) fisheries manager Luke Pearce said the project would give native fish a better chance to thrive in their natural habitat. 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The Murray-Darling river basin in south eastern Australia has been particularly hard hit by the carp. The Murray river plays host to many species of fish and apart from the regulars such as Murray Cod, Callop, Catfish, ... Carp, Cyprinus carpio, are often wrongly called European carp. Australia is planning to spend $15m introducing the herpes virus to kill the invasive pest. Carp completely dominate freshwater fish communities in southeastern Australia – in many areas they comprise a significant proportion of fish biomass, sometimes exceeding 80% or 350 kilograms per hectare in some parts of the Murray-Darling Basin. Norman's Lagoon on the Murray River at Albury in southern New South Wales was drained dry this week to eradicate the waterway of pest European carp and rehabilitate the decimated ecosystem. Scientists are releasing a herpes virus into the Murray River in South Australia to kill the European carp (pictured). Federal Minister for Water and Agriculture David Littleproud said the Government was committed to the delivery of the plan, but it was important to get the science right first. The insidious European carp is estimated to represent 80 per cent of the biomass in the Murray River system, but in Norman's Lagoon carp make up more than 90 per cent of the total biomass — completely dominating native fish populations. The herpes virus will reportedly kill thousands of the fish in the first 24 hours of it being released into the river. Billionaire online fashion bosses battle over troubled high street brands: Boohoo buys Debenhams for... 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' Carp are very conspicuous in the rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin and are widely loathed and resented by people associated with these waters. They will begin by replanting the aquatic plants lost to the carp. Now NHS Trusts tell people to 'walk like penguins' to avoid falls in snowy... 'She loved everyone and everyone loved her': Schoolteacher's family pay tribute as her husband is jailed for... STEPHEN GLOVER: This battle over Scottish independence will make Brexit look genteel. As carp are prolific breeders, hardy and highly adaptable, they quickly established themselves in Australia's waterways. CSIRO scientists have tested the koi herpes virus for nearly a decade on other animals including chickens, mice, frogs, turtles and water dragons. "I'm sure the states understand the importance of this program and we'll continue to make sure that it is delivered, but delivered sensibly, with the outcomes that we want to achieve and without unintended consequences.". The $15 million National Carp Control Plan, part of the federal budget, is designed to destroy the fish by 2045 reported the Herald Sun. Worried about your children's home learning? The European carp isn’t called the “rabbit of the river” for nothing. A truckload of dead carp collected from the Murray river in South Australia. In Western Australia, carp are present only in some wetlands around Perth. There is significant potential to harvest Carp at Murray River fishways using the Williams Separation Cage but it must be undertaken without any significant impact on native fish migration. But is it the one you'll get? The National Carp Control Plan is investigating the science of introducing a biocontrol agent, like the koi herpes virus, to drastically reduce pest carp populations. In Australia, we are more commonly used to the European carp. Although the first recorded introductions of European Carp occurred in 1859 in Victoria and in 1865 in New South Wales, these releases occurred in isolated ponds. 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