Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

 

Dr Graeme Inglis (centre) with workshop delegates in Hurghada, Egypt.

NIWA’s marine biosecurity expertise is in demand in far-flung places. Dr Graeme Inglis responded to the latest request: a training workshop on port surveys and marine pest surveillance for Middle Eastern scientists and government representatives.

The 3–day workshop was hosted by the Red Sea Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre in Hurghada, Egypt last month and attended by 16 delegates from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, and Djibouti.

Bordered by the Suez Canal and several of the world’s major oil producers, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden contain one of the busiest shipping routes in the world amid some of its most spectacular and unique marine environments. The workshop raised awareness in the region of the spread of unwanted marine organisms by shipping, and provided theory and practical hands-on training in marine pest surveys.