Community carp virus concerns: appraising recreational fishers

Carp now make up more than 90% of the freshwater fish biomass in much of south-east Australia. Whilst a range of different carp control options have been considered biological controls through the use of the Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 has been a particular focus in recent times. The aim of this study is to explore the sentiment of recreational fishers in New South Wales and Victoria in relation to carp, the proposed carp herpes virus and the main recreation activity (fishing) related to the community under focus. Data was collected from Twitter and Facebook, using netnographic techniques and coded using Appraisal. The three main themes which were evident were the carp virus, carp and fishing for carp. The majority of recreational fishers saw a need to eradicate carp, however, also saw them as a fun and viable fishing target and demonstrated a high level of scepticism for the virus.