From Lawrie Conole
There is no shortage of pedants among the readership of New Scientist, but just in case nobody has pointed this out already, there was an omission in your article about carp in Tasmania (This Week, 13 May). While the European carp (Cyprinus carpio) was clearly identified as an exotic menace, it was not made clear anywhere in the article that the brown trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) are also exotic. There are no indigenous salmonid fish in Australia.
The negative effect of carp on trout and native fish populations and waterways is indeed something to worry about, as the trout population is a major contributor to Tasmania’s economy – principally from holidaying anglers. But native fish have their own intrinsic and ecological worth too. Introduced trout are a direct predatory threat to native fish, and in some areas significant and diverse populations of native fish only occur in trout-free catchments.
