Carp is such a pest in Australian waterways that its opponents want to wage biological warfare to eradicate the species forever.
An unlikely coalition of anglers, farmers and conservationists have declared that the destructive feral fish mush go. 
Some of the nation's biggest fishing, farming and green groups say governments has a "once in a generation opportunity" to use "biological controls" to eradicate the fish, and should commit the funds.
Carp, an introduced species, is the bane of many fishermen and their presence is a major cause of the decline in native fish numbers in numerous freshwater ecosystems, in particular the Murray-Darling Basin.
By feeding on river bottoms, carp cloud water, harming native fish's ability to breed and feed and reducing river plant growth. Carp can also feed on young fish and compete with native species for habitat.
In recent years hopes have been raised that Australian carp numbers could be dramatically reduced by introducing a virus that originally emerged in Europe in the 1990s.
Allan Hansard, who heads the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, said if the virus was effective, inland waterways could be returned to conditions close to what they were before carp were brought to Australia.
The groups behind the push include the fishing foundation, the Australian Conservation Foundation, National Farmers' Federation, Invasive Species Council and the National Irrigators' Council.
CSIRO has been studying the virus - called the Koi herpes virus - at laboratories near Geelong since 2007. The head of the project at CSIRO, Dr Ken McColl, said it could kill up to 70 to 90 per cent of carp in a short time.
CSIRO has been testing to see whether releasing the virus would pose any threat to Australian fish species. So far the research had shown no ill effects, Dr McColl said.
Testing had also occurred on invertebrates, mammals and birds. Dr McColl said that in Europe, the virus had never spread to other species or humans.
Dr McColl said final testing was being completed this year on two fish types and, assuming that went well, he believed the virus would not pose risks to humans and other species if its release was given the go-ahead.
"It's potentially a white knight for removing, or at least reducing carp numbers significantly in the Murray-Darling Basin," Dr McColl said.
Acting campaigns director at the Australia Conservation Foundation, Jonathan La Nauze, told Fairfax Media any government hesitancy to back the use the carp virus might be about the potential clean-up effort it would require.
He said the sheer numbers of carp in Australian rivers - in the Murray-Darling carp makes up over 80 per cent of fish biomass - meant the virus could result in millions of tonnes of dead fish that need to be removed.
A spokesman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt said any proposals to help eradicate carp would be considered "exclusively on the basis of science, and against the most rigorous standards".