Fisherman cops $2000 fine after sinister discovery in Aussie river
This week, the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) officers were out patrolling Broken Creek in kayaks, a part of the Murray-Darling Basin, when they came across "several setlines baited with live carp". A man was allegedly found to have had live carp on his rods near Nathalia, along with approximately "17 live carp in his possession".
VFA said "given the risk of the man's fishing activity spreading carp to other Victorian waters", officers proceeded to inspect his property, where they located "a large seine net, and several setlines like those observed in Broken Creek".
As a result, the fisher received fines of more than $2000 for possessing live noxious aquatic species, using carp as live bait, and possessing commercial fishing equipment without authorisation. "Carp are a noxious aquatic species in Victoria, and one mature carp can lay up to a million eggs each year," a VFA spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia this week.
"While we're supportive of recreational fishers who want to target carp to help reduce their numbers, they can't be returned to the water alive or used live as bait. We encourage fishers to dispose of carp responsibly and ring 13FISH if they see or suspect people doing the wrong thing.'
According to the VFA, carp populations are at an all-time high in the Murray-Darling Basin, with astonishing estimates suggesting they comprise up to 90 per cent of fish biomass.
Dr Tiana Pirtle, conservation officer with the Invasive Species Council, previously explained why carp are such nuisances across Australia.
"They are taking over some waterways in Australia," she told Yahoo. "They are the most abundant, large freshwater fish in southeast Australia and are the most common fish now found in the Murray-Darling Basin. They are prolific breeders; a female carp can produce over one million eggs per kilo she weighs and can spawn several times a year."
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Carp are also extremely hardy and very adaptable. "They can tolerate a wide range of conditions, allowing them to survive and thrive in a wide variety of riverways," Pirtle said.
"They can cause significant changes to the river and lake environments that make those environments less suitable for native species and more suitable for them. For example, they can make the water murkier, which native fish, invertebrates and plants are less able to tolerate. This can lead to fewer native species and more carp in rivers and lakes.
"They also compete with some native fish for food and spawning sites."
As for setlines, they're illegal due to a combination of environmental, regulatory, and animal welfare concerns. The lines, which are left unattended with baited hooks, can cause prolonged suffering to fish and other wildlife that may be caught and left struggling or dying for extended periods.
From a conservation perspective, setlines make it difficult to control how many fish are caught, increasing the risk of overfishing and breaching catch limits. They also pose a threat to non-target and protected species, including turtles, platypus and birds, which may become entangled or injured.
Because setlines are not actively monitored, they undermine sustainable fishing efforts and enforcement of the rules, including those relating to size limits and humane dispatch. For these reasons, their use has been banned in Victorian inland waters, with significant penalties in place for anyone caught using them.
VFA said setlines catch and kill iconic Murray cod of all sizes, above and below the slot limit, including large breeding fish that contribute significantly to future generations. They also entangle native wildlife that inhabit our rivers, such as platypus, rakali and water birds.
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