European Carp

	Freshwater
European Carp are an introduced species and are not to be returned to the water alive.

European carp is an introduced species, first caught from the River Murray in South Australia in 1969, but now established as a major pest throughout Australia.

Australians tend to 'turn their nose up' to eating European carp, but it is considered a prized eating fish throughout Europe and Asia. They are one of the most widely farmed fish throughout the world, due to their rapid growth, ease of culture and ability to withstand a wide range of water quality.

Commercially caught European carp are currently used in Australia as fertiliser, bait for yabbies and rock lobster, as well as human consumption.

Carp feed by sucking around roots of aquatic plants in search of aquatic insects. Many plants are uprooted during the feeding process, and mud and plant debris is expelled, resulting in increased water turbidity. This feeding habit has a detrimental effect on natural ecosystems in Australia's freshwater systems - hence carp are identified as a noxious species.

The European carp combined with the reduced river flow and habitat removal, is possibly one of the greatest impacts on native fish in South Australia.