Preventing the spread of marine pests
Poor Knights on candid camera
Fish database tops 25 000 records
Genetic detectives tackle marine pests
Maps showing the known distribution of particular fish species, such as giant kokopu, can be produced from the database.
We recently added the 25 thousandth record to the New Zealand freshwater fish database (NZFFD), which now has extensive national coverage.
The NZFFD is a national repository for site-specific freshwater fish data collected by a wide variety of agencies and individuals, and maintained with funding from FRST.
The Poor Knights Marine Reserve is a popular spot with divers [Photo: Malcolm Francis, NIWA]
The Poor Knights Marine Reserve is a popular spot with divers, thanks to its rich marine life, clear waters, and labyrinth of underwater caves, arches, and tunnels.
Improved hull maintenance (vector control) was more effective than attempted eradication or yacht quarantine in reducing the rate of spread of a hypothetical marine pest.
A new NIWA model shows that improved hull maintenance is the most effective way of preventing the spread of marine pests by yachts.
Many non-native marine species establish initially within human transport hubs, such as shipping ports and marinas, and are then spread to other locations by boats leaving the infested hub.
Genetic analysis can be used to rapidly identify unwanted marine organisms in ballast water and in environments that can’t be easily searched, by identifying larvae in samples of sea water.
New, more efficient, and sensitive ways to detect,rapidly identify, and count potentially harmful marine species are needed.
