Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

New $650,000 investment on offer for managing invasive marine species

by Clean Below? Good to Go 15 Dec 2021 02:58 GMT 15 December 2021
Boating and aquaculture co-exist at Te Kouma harbour, Coromandel © Getty Images

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.

Biosecurity New Zealand recently commissioned the Cawthron Institute to review the global state of knowledge on treatments that can be used on marine pests. Unsurprisingly, this work identified some considerable gaps, with very few treatments known to be effective for use at the scale of a port or marina.

Following this review, a multidisciplinary team from across MPI are pleased to announce that a research programme of work has been approved to address some of these gaps. $650,000 is available over the next 4 years to deliver treatment options to improve marine pest management.

A particular focus of the research will be developing treatments for use when a new invasive marine weed or pest is detected, to enable successful control and eradication efforts. Managing incursions of non-indigenous species in marine environments has most commonly been done using hand removal by divers, which can be an effective, but expensive option. Diving also has many safety limitations, including depth and dive duration, and search efficacy is highly dependent on water and weather conditions.

"We're really excited to be initiating this work, as the lack of effective, efficient and practical marine pest treatments has always limited how we deal with marine pests" says Tim Riding, MPI's project lead. "By testing promising treatments in real-world situations, at the hectare scale for incursion responses, and at the tonne scale for managing pests of aquaculture, we are confident we can make solid improvements in the management of marine pests"

"This research will complement traditional diver-based approaches, and we are expecting the treatments developed will help us immensely when faced with new incursions of marine pests”

The second focus of the research will be finding treatments to help shellfish farms deal with hitchhiker pests, while maintaining the good health of their stock. This has traditionally been challenging, as the effective treatment of any pests attached to the shellfish needs to not damage the shellfish themselves.

As a key partner, Aquaculture New Zealand will be closely involved with this research. "We recognise how important biosecurity is to support the aquaculture industry to grow and enhance the sustainable production of New Zealand seafood, so we're highly supportive of this project," says Aquaculture New Zealands Technical Director, Dave Taylor. "We will be working with BNZ, the researchers and shellfish farmers to ensure the outputs of the research are effective against pests, and most importantly, practical and implementable at the farm scale"

A ‘request for proposals’ to undertake the research has recently been released onto the government procurement website GETS | Ministry for Primary Industries - Marine Biosecurity Pathways Management: Efficacy of treatments for shellfish movements and incursion response. Appropriately qualified researchers are encouraged to apply for this funding, with applications closing on the 10th of Feb 2022. MPI are hoping to have a research provider appointed and starting the work in March 2022.

The literature review outlining the current knowledge of marine biosecurity treatment options is also available from the MPI website mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/48580).

If you are interested in keeping updated with the outputs of the research, please email and we will keep you in the loop as we progress through this exciting piece of work

Related Articles

Northern ILCA circuit at Rudyard Lake
Gritted teeth, hard hiking and several capsizes Rudyard Lake Sailing Club held the latest round of the Northern ILCA circuit with eleven ILCA sailors on Saturday 28th June. Posted on 3 Jul
Celebrating 50 years of AZAB
Royal Cornwall YC host gathering of Azores and Back competitors Yachtsmen and women from around the world gathered at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club to celebrate 50 years since the Club's "Azores and Back" (AZAB) yacht race first set off from Falmouth Harbour. Posted on 3 Jul
2025 29er Europeans at Lake Garda Day 1
Five teams tied at the top Ikke Huber / Liam Berger (Switzerland) lead the charge after sweeping all 3 races in the Green fleet — an impressive perfect score of 2 points. Lucas & Moritz Hamm, the dynamic twin duo from Germany, matched their Swiss rivals with consistency and pace. Posted on 3 Jul
Dylan Fletcher joins #TeamMusto
The Olympian and 2022 Moth World Champion will become an ambassador for performance clothing brand The Olympian and 2022 Moth World Champion will become an ambassador for the performance clothing brand, with a specific focus on his Moth campaign. Posted on 3 Jul
Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy Preview
Promising another colourful and memorable chapter in the history of this exceptional race The date is set for Thursday, October 2nd in Saint-Tropez for the 14th edition of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy. This one-of-a-kind regatta is exclusively reserved for classic yachts that are at least 100 years old. Posted on 3 Jul
Onboard reporters in the Course des Caps
Enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life In the Course des Caps - Boulogne sur Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, the Onboard Reporters, or OBRs, are back doing a wonderful job of bringing IMOCA racing to life with pictures, videos, interviews and reports from the boats. Posted on 3 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 2
Consistent American Magic Quantum Racing move clear ahead American Magic Quantum Racing stepped three points clear at the top of the 2025 Rolex TP52 World Championship leaderboard today in Cascais, Portugal on the strength of a first and third from two breezy races. Posted on 3 Jul
505 UK Nationals at Weymouth
Michael Sims and Carl Gibbon hold back Howie Hamlin and Andy Zinn Apart from one 'stumble' in Race 7, the two leading boats were almost invisibly tied together to the point that after 8 races, they were tied on points. Posted on 3 Jul
OK Dinghy Europeans at Warnemünde preview
118 sailors from 14 nations on the entry list The 2025 OK Dinghy European Championship opens in Warnemünde this weekend with 118 sailors from 14 nations on the entry list. It will take place in the first half of Warnemünder Woche. Posted on 3 Jul
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 5
Wall to wall sunshine for the 102 teams The fifth morning dawned with wall to wall sunshine and a 5 knot SW sea breeze popped in at the surprisingly early time of 8.30, promising a good day's racing for the 102 teams. Posted on 3 Jul
GJW Direct 2024 DinghyPantaenius Sail 2025 ROW FooterSelden 2020 - FOOTER