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The war against marine pests will rapidly get easier if we can prevent them from growing on artificial structures like marina pontoons and wharf piles. The Marine Biosecurity Toolbox – a New Zealand led research programme - has some promising leads. We talk with Oliver Floerl, co-lead of the Marine Biosecurity Toolbox research programme with the Cawthron Institute about extensive research underway in New Zealand to make this happen.
The biofouling industry is innovating all the time, here in New Zealand and around the world. Here are three examples of New Zealand companies coming up with solutions to combat the challenge we face.   Gulf Harbour is the gateway to Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf islands. It is the first significant marina and haulout facility you come across when entering Auckland from most directions and the first you come across when you leave Auckland. It is busy, with boats constantly entering and leaving all year around. It is also blessed thanks to an investment in infrastructure with clear, clean water and bountiful wildlife including seals, stingrays and even visiting dolphins.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is investing in research to advance treatment options for invasive marine pests and support growth of New Zealand’s aquaculture industry. Applications for funding close on 10 February 2022.  When Jack Warden took a moment to photograph some unusual looking seaweed during a fishing trip with his father, he didn’t know that he was recording an invasive marine pest he had discovered for the first time in New Zealand.  Unusually low tides enabled Jack to spot and photograph Caulerpa at Blind Bay
Thanks to an ongoing program of surveillance and control, and a dive team that spends more than 5,000 hours in the water each year, Bay of Plenty is one of the regions still largely untouched by marine pests like Mediterranean fanworm. As part of the ongoing Tauranga Moana harbour surveillance, a large number of juvenile Mediterranean fanworm (Sabella spallanzanii) were discovered by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council marine biosecurity team on the bottom of a boat on a swing mooring. All of the region’s harbours are currently free of permanent infestations of Mediterranean fanworm so its vitally important that any boats moving into the region’s waters have clean hulls. In this instance the boat was lifted out, scrapped down, treated and returned to the water.
Caulerpa invasion: new rules restricting boating and fishing to stop spread of pest seaweed in Aotea16/9/2021
Biosecurity New Zealand is placing legal controls on parts of Aotea Great Barrier Island in a bid to contain the invasive seaweed Caulerpa brachypus, while the local Mana Whenua governance group on Aotea are supporting a dual response by imposing a rāhui over the same areas.  How much do Auckland boat owners know about marine biosecurity? And does this translate to improvements in practice? Auckland Council has now released the results of its second annual boat owner survey. The good news is it shows significant improvement in terms of understanding and uptake of marine biosecurty principles, which translates directly to better protection for our coastal environments. The Heron Construction Company is a commercial vessel operator that takes marine biosecurity seriously. It goes to great efforts to keep its barges, tugs and dredgers clean when they move up and down the country to build and maintain ports, wharves and marinas.  New Zealand’s efforts to protect its coastlines from marine pests is pioneering and scientists world-wide are continuing to build on the field of research.
When New Zealand introduced requirements for all boats entering the country to meet strict conditions relating to both ballast water and biofouling, it became the first country in the world to take active steps to protect its coastlines from marine pests. Every decision made in New Zealand has been done with the confidence of scientific knowledge that confirms it is the right thing to do, and marine scientists, both here and abroad, are continuously adding to a body of research, developing detection technologies and management approaches to help keep our coastlines safe from marine pests. The updated ‘Knowledge’ page on Marinepests.nz has links to a number of important studies on marine pests and suggestions of places where you can find out more about work undertaken by the scientific community that is working on these issues. Marine biosecurity is still a relatively new field and it’s of global environmental importance. The aim is to protect our marine environment. This in turn protects our fisheries, our aquaculture, our tourism industry – and also the places we love visiting and the things we love doing when we visit them. |
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