National Carp Control Plan project: the likely medium- to long-term ecological outcomes of major carp population reductions

The National Carp Control Plan (NCCP), operating within the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), is developing a plan for the potential release of the virus known as Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3, hereafter ‘the carp virus’) to control invasive common carp, Cyprinus carpio, in Australian freshwater environments. The NCCP has commissioned a program of scientific, social, and economic research that will develop the knowledge required to enable an informed decision on whether virus release should proceed. Part of the scientific program requires an exploration of the medium- to long-term ecological effects likely to result from major carp population reductions. This expression of interest relates to planning, coordinating, and conducting an expert elicitation process and evaluation of evidence to assess the ecological changes likely to result from carp biocontrol.