Marlborough District Council Biosecurity Manager Liam Falconer is one of six experts featured in a new national video highlighting a critical tool in New Zealand's fight against invasive marine pests.
The video, produced by the Cawthron Institute in partnership with Biosecurity New Zealand (Ministry for Primary Industries), explains how the Level of Fouling (LOF) scale is used to assess biofouling and reduce the risk and spread of invasive species around our coastline.
Biofouling is the growth of organisms on the underwater surfaces of boat hulls.
Liam says the Marlborough Sounds faces particular pressure from visiting vessels, many of which come from high-risk areas.
"We have a large number of recreational vessels that visit the region, particularly over summer. A lot of them come from high-risk ports or high-risk areas, which really increases the risk and impact on our region," he says.
"The real risk is to our aquaculture industry and marine biodiversity. At the moment the biggest pest threat to Marlborough’s coastal environment is Mediterranean fanworm. We don't currently have any established populations, but we have successfully managed 80 incursions since 2014. The risk remains and they continue to arrive, which is why this educational video is important for boaties to see."
Council’s biosecurity team works in partnership with Port Marlborough and Marlborough Sounds Marinas, who work to strict biosecurity protocols and regularly screen incoming vessels and port and marina infrastructure to prevent incursion establishment in our region.
Mediterranean fanworm, along with clubbed tunicate and undaria, are among the invasive species that can hitch a ride on fouled hulls and establish in new areas.
The LOF scale, developed over more than two decades through collaboration between scientists, biosecurity managers and regulatory organisations, provides a standardised six-category ranking system, from 0 (clean hull) to 5 (heavily fouled), enabling consistent assessment of biosecurity risk across the country.
The new video features regional council and iwi representatives, as well as Cawthron researchers, and was shown at the Marine Science Society Conference in Invercargill in July.
The video can be viewed on Council’s Facebook page.
For more information on the Level of Fouling scale,visit Cawthorn's website.
For information on biosecurity in Marlborough go to Councils website.
