Chief Minister Stanhope has solemnly declared the piscine menace has penetrated the hallowed waters of Yerrabi Pond:
Carp have been found for the first time at Yerrabi Pond and may have been deliberately introduced into the site, Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services Jon Stanhope said today.
“Up until this year, Yerrabi Pond was the only stocked lake that was carp free and had been so for over 10 years, but now that status has come to an end and it may never be recovered,” Mr Stanhope said.
“Given the size of the carp discovered in the pond, more than 40cm long, it is possible they have been deliberately introduced. There are other possible sources of carp introductions such as dispersal from other established populations, from garden ponds, by birds or contamination of released fish stocks.”
The carp were discovered during routine fisheries monitoring and are now likely to become established in the pond as has occurred in all other major urban lakes where they dominate the fish community. Carp make up 80% of the fish biomass in most water bodies in the ACT.
Aquatic ecologists are conducting further investigations to determine how the carp entered Yerrabi Pond. This will include a fish survey in the new upstream dam in Forde to establish if there are carp already established there.
May god have mercy on all our souls.
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