NSW allows bowhunters to target carp for sport
Oct 2, 2021 6:11:54 GMT 10
SA Hunter and milspec like this
Post by norseman on Oct 2, 2021 6:11:54 GMT 10
Bit of Gooberment sanity for a change but it took them long enough! Fishers using a bow and arrow are now able to target carp in NSW’s inland waterways.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/nsw-allows-bowhunters-to-target-carp-for-sport/news-story/f02c49516adfafa7c024aaee6f04ef15
It’s the latest shot at removing a notorious mud-sucking pest from our rivers and lakes.
Fishers using a bow and arrow will now be able to target carp in inland waterways, in a major overhaul of the rules and regulations surrounding bow hunting in NSW.
Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall confirmed that bow hunters are now free to take a shot at the notorious feral fish, following successful trials and community consultation over 2016 and 2017.
“Carp are considered a noxious pest and remain the only species that may be taken using bowfishing equipment,” Mr Marshall said.
“This is a popular activity, and bowfishers will now be allowed to target carp using an upright bow with a specialised arrow attached through a tethered line and a reel.
“The fishing community asked government and I to have a serious discussion about allowing bowfishing of carp, and I’m pleased to deliver this welcomed news … after the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) conducted public consultation.”
“I’m really excited about it. There is so many benefits in this legislation and it just makes so much sense,” Armidale’s Johan Boshoff, a member of the Australian Bowhunters Association, said.
“It’s really good for the environment – they’re so destructive for our waterways. The more we can get rid of them the better.”
Mr Boshoff, who participated in trials in 2017 which resulted in more than 120 carp being hauled out of waterways in a single day, described hunting the fish as “fairly challenging”.
“It’s not as simple as picking up the bow and shooting them. You also need to be fairly stealthy – you can’t just go splashing around … you need to employ some hunting skills to do it.”
Feral carp are considered a harmful pest in Australia’s waterways.
Originally from central Asia, carp numbers exploded throughout Australia in the 1960s with the fish now clogging up waterways across virtually all of inland NSW.
Carp control
Carp herpes
In 2016 the Federal Government announced a $15m plan to release carp herpes in a bid to decimate pest numbers, headlined by a lively parliamentary performance by then-Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce repeatedly bellowing ‘carp’. Final studies on the plan are expected to be completed later this year.
Fishing tournaments
Communities around NSW have taken matters (and rods) into their own hands, with fishing competitions resulting in tonnes of the pest hoisted from rivers. Towns which have hosted carp catching competitions include Sofala in the central-west and Wollombi in the Hunter.
Native fish stocking
Introducing native fish to carp-ravaged waterways is another tactic aimed at reducing pest numbers. Earlier this year more than 15,000 native Murray cod and golden perch were released into the Turon River in the central-west after a major fishing competition targeting carp. Native fish are believed to prey on juvenile carp.
Carp trapping
The NSW Department of Primary Industries has previously trialled trapping to remove waterways of the fish. Carp separation cages rely on carps’ instinctual behaviour to jump from the water, which separates them from native fish swimming upstream in waterways.
The bottom-feeding pest is blamed for causing erosion and reducing water quality by stirring up sediment while it feeds, while it also forces out native fish competing against it for food.
The overhaul in hunting laws is one of the most substantial developments in the fight to rid waterways of the fish.
It comes after a 2016 Federal Government announcement of a $15 million plan to introduce a herpes virus aimed at curbing the nation’s carp problem.
The plan is yet to be enacted as studies into the impact of the virus continue, with a decision expected on its release expected by the end of this year.
The changes don’t mean it’ll be open slather for bow hunters though, with a range of rules in place to encourage safe fishing. Hunters won’t be able to shoot within 50 metres of another person or vehicle not in their fishing party, or within 100m of a dwelling, picnic area or campsite.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/nsw-allows-bowhunters-to-target-carp-for-sport/news-story/f02c49516adfafa7c024aaee6f04ef15
It’s the latest shot at removing a notorious mud-sucking pest from our rivers and lakes.
Fishers using a bow and arrow will now be able to target carp in inland waterways, in a major overhaul of the rules and regulations surrounding bow hunting in NSW.
Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall confirmed that bow hunters are now free to take a shot at the notorious feral fish, following successful trials and community consultation over 2016 and 2017.
“Carp are considered a noxious pest and remain the only species that may be taken using bowfishing equipment,” Mr Marshall said.
“This is a popular activity, and bowfishers will now be allowed to target carp using an upright bow with a specialised arrow attached through a tethered line and a reel.
“The fishing community asked government and I to have a serious discussion about allowing bowfishing of carp, and I’m pleased to deliver this welcomed news … after the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) conducted public consultation.”
“I’m really excited about it. There is so many benefits in this legislation and it just makes so much sense,” Armidale’s Johan Boshoff, a member of the Australian Bowhunters Association, said.
“It’s really good for the environment – they’re so destructive for our waterways. The more we can get rid of them the better.”
Mr Boshoff, who participated in trials in 2017 which resulted in more than 120 carp being hauled out of waterways in a single day, described hunting the fish as “fairly challenging”.
“It’s not as simple as picking up the bow and shooting them. You also need to be fairly stealthy – you can’t just go splashing around … you need to employ some hunting skills to do it.”
Feral carp are considered a harmful pest in Australia’s waterways.
Originally from central Asia, carp numbers exploded throughout Australia in the 1960s with the fish now clogging up waterways across virtually all of inland NSW.
Carp control
Carp herpes
In 2016 the Federal Government announced a $15m plan to release carp herpes in a bid to decimate pest numbers, headlined by a lively parliamentary performance by then-Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce repeatedly bellowing ‘carp’. Final studies on the plan are expected to be completed later this year.
Fishing tournaments
Communities around NSW have taken matters (and rods) into their own hands, with fishing competitions resulting in tonnes of the pest hoisted from rivers. Towns which have hosted carp catching competitions include Sofala in the central-west and Wollombi in the Hunter.
Native fish stocking
Introducing native fish to carp-ravaged waterways is another tactic aimed at reducing pest numbers. Earlier this year more than 15,000 native Murray cod and golden perch were released into the Turon River in the central-west after a major fishing competition targeting carp. Native fish are believed to prey on juvenile carp.
Carp trapping
The NSW Department of Primary Industries has previously trialled trapping to remove waterways of the fish. Carp separation cages rely on carps’ instinctual behaviour to jump from the water, which separates them from native fish swimming upstream in waterways.
The bottom-feeding pest is blamed for causing erosion and reducing water quality by stirring up sediment while it feeds, while it also forces out native fish competing against it for food.
The overhaul in hunting laws is one of the most substantial developments in the fight to rid waterways of the fish.
It comes after a 2016 Federal Government announcement of a $15 million plan to introduce a herpes virus aimed at curbing the nation’s carp problem.
The plan is yet to be enacted as studies into the impact of the virus continue, with a decision expected on its release expected by the end of this year.
The changes don’t mean it’ll be open slather for bow hunters though, with a range of rules in place to encourage safe fishing. Hunters won’t be able to shoot within 50 metres of another person or vehicle not in their fishing party, or within 100m of a dwelling, picnic area or campsite.