|
Baseline surveys
of all major ports using
established
protocols is considered a prerequisite
to control the introduction and spread of
introduced marine species (Hewitt & Martin,
1996, 2001). Surveys have revealed that
species have been introduced and become
established in a variety of domestic
Australian ports from which vessels and
equipment involved in Western Australian
development projects are likely to
originate, such as Bunbury (12 introduced
species detected), Fremantle (33), Shark Bay
(10), Port Hedland (16), and Darwin (5)
(Hewitt, 2002; Wyatt et al., 2005). Many of
these species may pose limited threats to
Australia’s marine environments, or may
already be widespread resulting in fewer
species identified as pests (Hewitt, 2002;
Hewitt, 2003). In the absence of a baseline
survey however, the current status of marine
pests in a region, and hence the threat to
and from surrounding regions, will remain
unknown.
Surveys of
ports have also proven useful for other
purposes than identification of pest
species. The determination of the current
distribution of native floral and faunal
biodiversity provides a clear yardstick
against which environmental impacts of point
source pollution events can be evaluated
(e.g. oil spills, sewage discharge, heated
effluents). In addition, knowledge of the
distribution and abundance patterns of
recognised rare and/or endangered species
aids planning and development.
Enviro Marine
is able to offer unrivalled expertise and
experience in the design and implementation
of baseline port surveys for NIS, as well as
vessel inspections and ongoing monitoring. Please
contact us for more information on our
introduced marine species expertise.
Hewitt, C.L. (2002) Distribution and
biodiversity of Australian tropical
marine bioinvasions. Pacific
Science 56: 213-222.
Hewitt, C.L. (2003) The diversity of
likely impacts of introduced marine
species in Australian waters. Records
of the South Australian Museum
Monographs Series 7: 3-10.
Hewitt, C.L. and Martin, R.B. (1996)
Port surveys for introduced
marine species - background
considerations and sampling
protocols. Centre for Research
on Introduced Marine Pests, CSIRO
Marine Research, Technical Report
No. 4, Hobart, Tasmania.
Hewitt, C.L. and Martin, R.B. (2001)
Revised protocols for baseline
port surveys for introduced marine
species: survey design, sampling
protocols and specimen handling.
Centre for Research on Introduced
Marine Pests, CSIRO Marine Research,
Technical Report No. 22, Hobart,
Tasmania.
Wyatt, A.S.J., Hewitt, C.L., Walker,
D.I. and Ward, T.J. (2005) Marine
introductions in the Shark Bay World
Heritage Property, Western
Australia: A preliminary assessment.
Diversity and Distributions
11: 33-44.
|
