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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To prevent new marine pest introductions, detect quickly and respond to new marine pest incursions, and better manage and contain impacts of existing infestations.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• responses identified in the National Taskforce (SCC/SCFA 2000) report to prevent and manage marine pests in Australia are implemented in Tasmania;
   
• research is undertaken into the distribution of marine pests and their impacts on Tasmanian estuarine and marine species and ecosystems;
   
• ways to minimise the translocation of marine pests already in the State are assessed and implemented;
   
• a Code of Practice for boat owners is developed to decrease the risk of translocation of marine pests via hull fouling;
   
• port baseline surveys are completed for all first ports of call (data from these surveys should then be used to develop a program of ongoing monitoring to improve the State's early warning capabilities and to maintain the currency of the baseline data); and
   
• education programs continue to focus on early warning of new pest incursions and reducing the translocation risk.
   

Key issues

Supporting information for this recommendation is contained in the Marine Pests and Diseases Issue Report. Although there have been substantial improvements in marine pest management over the last five years there is still a lot that can be done to reduce the threat posed by invasive species. Some of the findings from this Issue report are summarised below.

• Tasmania has a significant marine pest problem with 58 species, such as the Northern Pacific seastar, the Japanese kelp, and a toxic dinoflagellate, invading our waters. As an indication of the extent of the problem in Tasmania, authorities in the Port of Hastings (Victoria) and New Zealand have declared that ballast water from Tasmania is very high risk. These ports do not allow ships to discharge ballast water originating from Tasmania in their waters. The Victorian government is now considering extending this restriction to ban the discharge of Tasmanian ballast water in all Victorian ports.
   
• Because of a lack of baseline data, the impacts of many marine pests and diseases are difficult to prove and there are still serious gaps in our knowledge of the distribution of marine pests in the State. The full extent of marine invasions in Tasmania will not be known until baseline surveys have been completed. In particular, there is little information on the distribution and abundance of introduced marine species in more remote areas of the State such as King Island, the west coast and Macquarie Island.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Actions taken since the last SoE Report (SDAC 1997) relevant to the management of introduced marine pests in Tasmania include the following:

• In the past management of introduced marine pests in Tasmania has been impeded by an uncoordinated approach at a National level and a lack of baseline data. Since the last SoE Report there has been a National Taskforce report, which addressed the issue of introduced marine pests in Australia (SCC/SCFA 2000). This report, which was endorsed by three ministerial councils, makes recommendations for prevention and management of introduced marine pests. This has led to a more coordinated approach to the problem nationally.
   
• Mandatory ballast water regulations were introduced by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service in 2001, whereby the majority of international vessels exchange their ballast en route to Australia. This reduces the risk that marine pests will be introduced to Tasmania via ballast water discharge. For ships that have not exchanged ballast water at sea (or used an equivalent on-board treatment system), an appropriate management option for ballast water treatment is applied through a Decision Support System to assess the risk posed by ballast water from individual ships.
   
• The Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests has developed baseline port survey protocols for introduced and cryptogenic (i.e. uncertain invasion status) species (Hewitt and Martin 2001).
   
• Baseline port surveys to determine the distribution and abundance of introduced marine species were completed in the Ports of Launceston and Hobart (including Triabunna) by the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE).
   
• Surveys of all other major ports in the State and six minor ports/marinas are currently being organised by DPIWE and the relevant authorities through a Natural Heritage Trust Strategic Package project.
   
• DPIWE is working with the Ports to establish the longer-term monitoring programs to maintain the currency of the port survey data and increase early warning capabilities.
   
• Education programs have been conducted to raise awareness, and to inform the public what boat owners, amateur aquarists and fishers can do to prevent the spread of marine pests. A marine pest section was included in the current General Sea Fishing Rules (2002), which is distributed to all recreational fishing licence holders. Education programs were also conducted in association with the baseline surveys of the Ports of Launceston and Hobart.
   
• An Introduced Marine Pest Emergency Response Plan was developed to provide a protocol in the event of new introductions.
   
• The Tasmanian Marine Farm Monitoring Project was set up as a trial program between 1998-1999 to raise awareness of marine pest issues in the Marine Farming Sector in south-east Tasmania. It also successfully assessed the potential for involving marine farmers in the early detection of marine pest incursion.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Coastal, Estuarine and Marine' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports