Western Landcare NSW Inc.

Bourke Carp Muster

The Bourke Ain’t Caught Nuffin Fishing Club held a Carp Muster along the Darling River to encourage the community to fish out this introduced pest.

Community Participation - LP045-23

The issue

The presence of Carp in the Darling River has exponentially increased since the flooding event at the end of 2022. The damage they cause influences the water quality and native fish all along the Darling River.  They can also damage and destroy aquatic plants that many of the smaller native fish use for shelter and due to the Carp’s feeding habits they increase the turbidity of the water. The Fishing Club identified this excessive number of Carp as an issue for the Darling River which is the lifeline that runs through Bourke and so many people have a connection too.

The solution

The local fishing club in Bourke called the Ain’t Caught Nuffin Fishin Club held a Carp Muster across a weekend with prizes for a variety of categories such as the largest and the greatest number of carp caught. Participants registered on the Saturday and the weigh-in competition announcement occurred on the Sunday afternoon. The fishing club in Bourke is a very strong and committed group that has been successfully running through drought and flood for a decade. With a financial contribution by Western Local Land Services and Western Landcare they were able to purchase attractive prizes for competitors.

The impact

Over the two days 113 competitors caught a total of one thousand carp between Brewarrina and Louth along the Darling River. It is important to encourage sustainable fishing through the catch and release of native fish and disposal of introduced carp. These practices are providing a healthy river for the future and all those downstream. This is not an isolated event; with other neighbouring towns also running similar competitions; with the goal to decrease Carp numbers.

Author: Georgia Anderson

Key facts

  • When fishing along the Darling River carp are caught everyday – therefore to incentivise this with prizes encourages more participation.
  • Holding a Carp Muster weekend is a way to increase community engagement and connection whilst sharing information on native and introduced species in our River systems.
  • One thousand Carp were caught over a two day period from 113 competitors.

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