Protecting the
coastlines we love

Great news for residents of Leigh and Omaha. Since the discovery of a small clump of exotic caulerpa seaweed in Omaha Bay this winter during Auckland Council’s routine dive surveillance, no more has been found in the harbour. 

From SailGP to the Moana Ocean Festival, Auckland is a hot spot for maritime events this summer. 18 Auckland Council marine biosecurity ambassadors will be out and about.

We are stoked to have world cruisers back and it’s good to know that they have had to meet strict criteria with regards to biofouling even before they arrive at our borders. And once they get here, they need to meet all the same regional requirements of the Kiwi domestic fleet.

From Northland all the way down to Hawke’ Bay, our regions include a vast amount of coastline. As fantastic as our surveillance teams are, they can’t get around it all. We need your help!

Warmer waters mean change for our marine ecosystems. We spoke with senior marine biosecurity adviser Dimitri Collella from Auckland Council about what this could mean for marine pest species in the North Island. 

An interactive map designed to help anyone interested in exotic caulerpa efforts to see where surveillance has taken place, and where caulerpa has or has not been found, is now live.  

A New Zealand start up called Escobar Marine Solutions is offering inspections and cleaning of boat hulls underwater using specially designed drones.

A big thanks to Sharon Harper (pictured), a resident of Kawau Island, for joining us in the war against marine pests.

We were stoked to hear that the Marine Vessel Portal (MVP) won an international technology award recently.

Asterias amurensis, or the Northern Pacific seastar is a huge starfish (up to 50cm in diameter) and its favourite food includes mussels, clams, scallops and other shellfish. 

Cawthron Institute’s programme ‘Effective eradication: strategies, tactics, and technologies for successful marine invasion management’ has received nearly $10 million in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.