Victorian Fisheries Authority CEO Travis Dowling said the summit, co-hosted by the Australian River Restoration Centre, reflects growing community concern about the impacts of carp on waterway health, native fish and communities across the Basin.
"Decades of research into a carp virus biocontrol has delayed large-scale operational action, and with more research planned there are no clear timelines for a decision on its release," Mr Dowling said.
"By contrast, over this period, billions of dollars in government funding has gone to controlling a dozen other invasive species, but not carp."
"We urgently need to release the carp virus because it provides the only catchment scale solution to our wicked carp problem that is getting worse."
With more than 300 million carp across the Basin, the noxious species represents up to 90 per cent of fish biomass, degrading water quality and displacing native fish including several threatened species.
The summit, which has attracted delegates from 40 organisations, will open with a welcome video address by Senator David Pocock followed by presentations from Member for Murray Helen Dalton, Associate Professor Ivor Stuart from Charles Sturt University, the Murray Darling Association and the Invasive Species Council.
Delegates will also hear from a range of experts and industry leaders troubled by the impacts of expanding carp populations in the Murray Darling Basin and will come together to identify ways to mobilise meaningful action on carp.
Summit presenter and Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University Ivor Stuart saidcarp are ruining waterways, preying on native fish, degrading water quality and pushing threatened native fish toward extinction. We need to act now.
The summit will focus on building a more coordinated response, including the proposed formation of a Murray-Darling Carp Action Alliance. Dr Siwan Lovett from the Australian River Restoration Centre said stronger alignment across all sectors is critical.
Carp are a basin-wide challenge, and addressing them will require coordinated action across science, community, industry and government," Dr Lovett said.
Warrick Wragg from the National Farmers Federation said there is broad agreement among experts and industry leaders that it is time to take action against carp.
