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New biohazard - How to stop the slimy white tubes


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"Auckland’s marine environment is under serious threat from a destructive Australian pest.

The Australian droplet tunicate (Eudistoma elongatum) grows in clusters of slimy white tubes. It can quickly smother entire beaches and foreshores, and damage or destroy marine farms.

The snot-like pest has been spotted in three parts of Auckland:  Mahurangi Harbour, Sandspit and Oakura Bay on Waiheke Island..."

 

http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/news/2017/09/auckland-beaches-under-threat-from-marine-pest/

 

 

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Oh, so it could be good news then. It spreads quickly to smother beaches, Rocks and structures. That means the Med Fan Worm might get a bit of a hammering. :roll:
It's here, it's already too late. It's only a  matter of time and this will spread everywhere now it is here. Something has to change to stop these pests getting here.

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There is a significant degree of irony that the next thread down in the forum is the one on how to get hold of antifoul that still has the active ingredients that work.....

 

"Purchase Anti-foul online from overseas - will it be allowed in by customs?"

 

This new pest is not very attractive, but with any luck it will kill off all of the marine farms and we can get some bays back.

 

Both Northland and Tauranga Regional Councils were at the boat show (together) banging on about the farm worm, and other pests.

 

I really had to bit my tongue and not say what I wanted to say, but I did ask:

1) Why did NRC ignore such a clear response to the consultation on the new bio-security tax for Northland boaties;

2) How do they expect to combat the spread of pests when they ban all the ingredients that make antifoul work, and;

3) How do they expect us to clean our boats regularly when they have either band or removed piles for drying out?

 

The lady did mumble something about "looking at" getting more piles so people can dry their boats out and clean them properly. She did state you can't get into any of the travel lifts at this time of year because there is so much demand from boaties trying to do the right thing.

 

f**king idiots. Sorry for the language, but they are not logical or pragmatic in the management of these pests.

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Plastic bags bottles etc are at fault??

 

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/2017/09/28/2011-tsunami-plastic-rafts-allow-hundreds-of-species-to-cross-pacific/#.Wc04_xNSzUI

 

 

Oceanic rafting certainly isn’t new—it’s thought that many lineages of animals and plants, like South America’s monkeys and Madagascar’s lemurs, rafted their way to the lands they now call home. But successful rafting events like these are thought to be rare, as common rafting materials like wood often degrade before they find their way to a new shore.

Plastics, on the other hand, don’t.

 

Bring back paper bags glass bottles and the refund scheme like we had as kids,2c a bottle run around back of shop and resell Haha did i do that :razz:

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According to NRC in that link, any marine growth is considered a contaminant, including slime.

 

I.e. Light slime.

 

Depositing contaminants into the marine environment, beach, water etc, is prohibited.

So based on the letter of the law, it's not actually possible to comply with it, if doing any cleaning in the water.

That includes diving on your own hull.

There are some handy outs, including you can basically do what you want if your boat hasn't left Northland since the last Antifoul.

 

Important note that you can't clean ablative antifouls at all, only hard antifouls (to avoid chemical contamination of the environment)

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According to NRC in that link, any marine growth is considered a contaminant, including slime.

 

I.e. Light slime.

 

Depositing contaminants into the marine environment, beach, water etc, is prohibited.

So based on the letter of the law, it's not actually possible to comply with it, if doing any cleaning in the water.

That includes diving on your own hull.

There are some handy outs, including you can basically do what you want if your boat hasn't left Northland since the last Antifoul.

 

Important note that you can't clean ablative antifouls at all, only hard antifouls (to avoid chemical contamination of the environment)

 

If that's their thinking then they need to ban ablative antifoul.  That's exactly what it's designed to do, and while cleaning it accelerates the process it is meant to gradually wear away (into the environment) over time.  I thought this was why we're now limited to not having the ones containing the good stuff.  

 

What are they planning about doing about the products that are designed to make the slime fall off when you get to a certain speed?  I've got prop speed on my prop - as soon as it starts turning, the"light slime" falls off.  So do a good proportion of the boats in NZ.  Plenty of launches use antifouling designed to self clean once they get up to a certain speed - how are they going to deal with that?

 

Seems like the rules are being made up by people with no idea what they're up to.

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I can't believe the number of bio-security incursions going on at the moment.

 

Was listening to a story about the Bluff oysters this morning, have completely destroyed all the oyster farms in Big Glory Bay (MPI, not the parasite), no idea how the parasite got to Stewart Island. Same parasite established in the sounds, but officials didn't do anything (oh, put it a 'quarantine').

 

Oyster parasite

Kauri die back

Myrtle rust

M Bovis

Med Fan worm

The thing that is nailing feajoas

Australian fruit fly (imported on Auckland Zoo foods, why else is it only centered around Pt Chev?)

That moth that lead to aerial spraying of pesticides across Auckland suburbs

 

Have I missed any?

 

Now, If I had time, I'd go suss what has happened to the funding of our Biosecurity teams. Wasn't the previously directly funded department incorporated into MPI? What was it before, MAF?

What has the National Govt done?

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In the mean time ships anchoring off Russell BOI and visiting Auckland harbour are not inspected which shows how serious the NRC are, and these same ships can use whatever antifoul they like ( up to a few years ago containing tin) 

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Thanks Elly, I do love a good Feijoa hence I've planted a lot at home. I also love a good Guava so planted those as well but are now nervous due to that Moths name.

 

Ahhgggggg and it's into citrus and chillies so that fecking moth would find our place a bit of a Nirvana.

 

Should rename it 'The piss KM off big time Moth'.

You've not got it already?

I can drop some larvae around, was all through our feijoas this year.

 

I'm sure I've missed a plant based biological incursion, in addition to the myrtle rust, unless it was found in so many places so quickly I just thought there was more than one organism.

Whats that thing that nailed all the kiwifruit the year before last?

 

Wouldn't want to be an orchadist, or a marine farmer, or a dairy farmer...

Oh yeah, thats right, our economy is based on agriculture.........................

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The attitude of the Regional Council, and the strength of the law is both astounding an disturbing.

 

Even if the property owner had nothing to do with damaging the pipeline, we can still prosecute them!

 

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/341034/burst-pipe-property-owner-could-be-prosecuted

 

Considering the land owner would have had no say in the pipeline being but on his land in the first place, this doesn't follow any laws of natural justice.

 

The pipe burst when the oil company increased the operating pressure. They had not pigged the line for 3 years. I thought they would pig the line annually. They were about to pig the line next month. Note a pig uses electronics to asses pipe condition and pipe wall thickness. It would have found the damage if the oil company was doing their job diligently.

 

But the attitude of the Regional Council, to go for the smallest guy with any association to the incident, it's just astounding.

 

I don't think I'll ever sail to northland again. Not until this council is dismantled.

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As predicted when they were introduced in 1989 Regional Councils are out of control (even more than City Council).They have little scrutiny from media and most of the public don't know they exist. R C's are unnecessary - their functions, such as they are can and should be a Department of Local Councils. They are into job creation and Activity creation. At vast expense. The nouveau rich occupation for unemployables. But like the gestapo have power absolute.

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The attitude of the Regional Council, and the strength of the law is both astounding an disturbing.

 

Even if the property owner had nothing to do with damaging the pipeline, we can still prosecute them!

That is hardly fair. The Property owner likely never had a say in the Pipeline going through his property in the first place and then to be told you are liable for damage because of a Contractors Fault is a bit on the nose. Well, I assume there was a contractor. Unless the Owner hired a digger. There was some talk of Ancient Kauri being dug up, but I don;t know if that was speculation or fact.

I am not sure what the NRC could charge the Property owner with, apart from the cost of cleanup. They do not own the Pipeline. The owners of the Pipeline would have to try and go the Property owner. There was clear warning and the Owner should have known the Pipe was there. The Contractor may not have seen the signs of course. He may have come from the otherside of the fence.

 

 

I think its time to take them apart.

Is there a give-a-little page for the legal challenge against the biosecurity tax?

Or any other meaningful way of taking them down?

You haven't got a show. They have the full weight of law behind them and they also have unlimited funds to fight legal battles in Court.

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Definitely wouldn't have a show starting out with an attitude like that. But I do acknowledge you'd need to be a grumpy old git with plenty of time on your hands.

 

Mangawhai ratepayers association scored a win in the High Court against NRC. Determined the way they levied their rates was illegal. I put the link up around here somewhere, in relation to the story about the marinas challenging the bio security tax.

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a yacht hauled at pybc yesterday had a few barnacles on it but it was the slime that caught everyone eye,it was like the hull had been been coated in oil and the slime stuck to the hull,water blaster removed bugger all,when I left the owner was making in roads using a tungsten scraper,who knows what was on the hull.

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