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Monitoring carp behaviour in large, shallow lakes and the implications for carp management / eradication.

Andrew Taylor

Inland Fisheries Service, 17 Back River Rd, New Norfolk TAS 7140, www.ifs.tas.gov.au, Email Andrew.Taylor@ifs.tas.gov.au

Abstract

The Carp Management Program (CMP) of the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) has been using intense, physical removal techniques in lakes Crescent and Sorell since European carp (Cyprinus carpio) were identified as inhabiting Tasmania in 1995. In 1997, the implementation of transmitters and radio tracking equipment was incorporated into the program. Subsequently, with the help of grid reference charts, the CMP have recorded all tracking events and location data for each individual fish hosting a transmitter. Tracking information is stored within a Microsoft Access database. To visualise historical tracking data in a spatial sense, a datalink has been constructed to upload specific tracking information with the output displayed in Microsoft Mapinfo. The datalink enables the user to view individual tracker fish behaviour for any given time period within either water body. Thematic distribution maps can also be displayed for specific intervals of time, illustrating favourable areas of inhabitancy. By incorporating water temperature and lake level data into the database, the areas where tracker fish are likely to be at particular environmental conditions can be determined. Ultimately, the carp database is a useful management tool in contributing to the fishdown and eventual eradication of the European carp from Tasmania.

Key Words

Carp, tracking, datalink, management, eradication.

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