Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => News Views & Press Releases => Topic started by: Editor on October 13, 2013, 09:59:35 PM
-
MEDIA RELEASE
17 September, 2013 - QMDC
Page 1 of 1
Thallon Carp Buster puts pest fish in spotlight
Another large crowd of around 167 anglers turned up for the annual Thallon Carp Buster weekend on September 14 and 15.
A massive 790 carp were caught over the weekend, which was hosted by the Thallon Fishing Club and supported by the Queensland Murray - Darling Committee (QMDC). Originally scheduled for March, this event had to be postponed due to flooding earlier in the year.
QMDC Biodiversity Officer Pippa Bagshaw was really pleased with the result and the large number of families taking part again this year.
“In total, over 1 tonne of carp were caught, which is a great effort,” Ms Bagshaw said.
“It’s all about people learning to recognise the pest fish, carp, and know that they can’t throw them back into the river or keep them.
“Carp are a pest because they compete with native fish species such as the iconic Murray Cod, and they disturb the water as they are bottom-feeders, meaning all the mud gets disturbed, allowing less light in for plant growth,” she said.
Thallon Fishing Club president Liz Spackman was also thrilled with the turnout on the weekend.
“We had loads of fish coming in and gave away heaps of prizes, including a large number of mystery prizes,” Ms Spackman said.
“Brenton Smith from Dirranbandi caught the biggest carp, which weighed in at 6.295kg, whilst Paul Broughton of Tingalpa caught the most carp, catching 84 over the weekend,” she said.
The next Carp Buster will be in Millmerran on October 12 and 13, with Goondiwindi’s annual Carp Buster on October 26 and 27. More events in the series will be held in early 2014 with the details at www.qmdc.org.au (http://www.qmdc.org.au).
For more information on the Carp Buster series, contact Pippa Bagshaw on 07 4671 7900.
The Queensland Murray-Darling Committee is a natural resource management organisation supported via funding from the Queensland Government and the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country programs.