The discovery of this introduced pest was a potential environmental disaster for Tasmania and blamed on interstate anglers using the juvenile carp as bait fish.

Since 1995 the Inland Fisheries Service and the state government have worked diligently to try to eradicate the carp, and, for good reason.

Carp breed prolifically, up to 2 million eggs at a time, and they feed by sucking in mud from the river bottom and river banks, spitting it out and eating the food that is exposed.

It has turned many excellent rivers and dams interstate into puddles of mud that affect drinking water, stock water and angling.

Water from Lake Crescent ultimately flows into the Derwent River, which is an open system with thousands of tributaries and is Hobart's water source.

If European carp found their way into the Derwent River they would undoubtedly spread throughout the state with obvious consequences.

One of the early eradication options for Lake Crescent was to poison the entire lake but this would have destroyed many other species.

Through trial and error the IFS developed electronic tags to track males to the breeding females in the marshes to remove those females before they spawned.

Unfortunately some carp managed to escape through a canal into nearby Lake Sorell several years ago but Lake Crescent has subsequently been declared carp free, which is a major achievement.

The state government has already spent $7.7 million on this project and now believes that it is within two years of eradication of carp from Lake Sorell.

To this end, the federal government announced a grant this week of $820,000 to accelerate the program as it eyes the finish line.

This type of state-federal co-operation is to be applauded along with the thousands of hours of dedication from IFS staff to protect our waterways.