One of Australia’s worst invasive species is now breeding in a key Canberra drinking water reservoir.
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00:00 Nestled in the hills not far from the urban sprawl of Canberra and Queanbeyan sits a reservoir
00:17 that some anglers call a freshwater fishing oasis.
00:20 This is a big, big boy.
00:23 And this is partly why.
00:25 Googong Dam is home to some massive Murray Cod. Catching a couple launched the career of Rob Paxivanus.
00:31 It's a 70, 80 pound fish.
00:34 And helped him become the host of his own TV show, Fishing Australia.
00:38 It was one of the last remaining freshwater systems that were carp free and hence it was very clear.
00:45 Across the Murray Darling Basin, carp are a massive problem.
00:52 In places they now make up 80 to 90 percent of the fish biomass,
00:56 destroying aquatic plants and reducing water quality.
00:59 Just there, look at it. Huge.
01:02 And in recent years there have been growing fears they were establishing themselves in Googong.
01:07 Local angler Paul Orman has seen them a few times.
01:11 Were you shocked?
01:12 Yeah I was actually because I didn't think there was any carp in here and they kept telling me
01:15 there was no carp and I said oh yeah but these are carp.
01:18 The Parks ACT webpage about fishing states carp are still excluded from the dam.
01:23 But a government spokesperson confirmed to the ABC that in late 2021 a survey found
01:29 adult and sub-adult carp, indicating that breeding had taken place.
01:34 And it's the word breeding that is really key in that statement because the odd carp has been seen
01:43 and even caught here since at least 1990 but it wasn't considered an established or self-sustaining population.
01:50 So if they're breeding they're producing under their own steam and so a population will take off.
01:57 Mark Lintemans has studied freshwater fish in the region for more than four decades
02:03 and suspects the carp may have escaped from a flooded farm dam in the catchment
02:07 or been used as live bait.
02:10 He thinks it's extremely unlikely the fish could have come from a pipeline connecting
02:14 the Murrumbidgee River to Googong and says carp pose no threat to Canberra's drinking water supply.
02:21 No it will have no effect because Googong's water is fully treated before it gets to Canberra taps.
02:27 I mean this fish can swallow a small child.
02:29 But there are fears that native fish stocks in Googong could suffer
02:33 particularly if carp numbers boom over the next decade.
02:37 It's devastating news it really is like it's really sad so I never thought that the carp would get in there.
02:43 All's not lost but we definitely need a solution.
02:46 Authorities have stocked more predatory native fish here like Murray Cod and Golden Perch
02:53 in an attempt to keep carp numbers low.
02:55 But one female carp can lay a million eggs and authorities say once they're in
03:00 they're extremely difficult to control.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]