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I'll see what I can find out about Selektope and if the EPA representative can address it (either generally or specifically) during the webinar. I know from speaking with some of the antifoul coating companies (not that one) that they are working to get new products to market in NZ and that we have high environmental thresholds they have to meet.

Hi Zoe thanks for letting us know you are the newsletter editor . The number one tool for boat owners to combat marine pests is effective antifoul . There has been mention on clean below good to go about Selektope . Hempel paints have a Selektope containing antifoul available offshore . I have emailed the Hempel distributor but they don’t reply . We need to get proven effective antifouls here pronto , the soft coprous oxide paints just don’t cut the mustard and aren’t great for the seafloor either . Pressure needs to be applied to whichever Govt department approves antifouls to get

It is of a round ball appearance and is black, no less than .6 of a metre in diameter flown on the forepart of the deck. They are generally 2 flat discs that are keyed together to appear as a ball. Being flat they stow well when not in use.

Who flys the anchor shape, when at anchor? who actually has one?

I think whether we talk about Blackberry, Gorse, Star fish, wasps, fan worm, possums, human beings, etc.etc. It is just nature doing what nature has always done. Every species wants to survive, where ever there is a gap or weaker species the next one up on the ladder will take advantage. There are no bleeding hearts in nature. (Actually there are lots, those who are being eaten by a more rapacious species) NZ having been separated from any close neighbours for Eons falls into the weaker species group, there apparently being no serious predators here until (we) mankind arrived. So much has ch

My personal opinion? The reasons are economic and environmental. We don't go around scattering gorse seeds into beautiful places (or productive farms) that don't have gorse. Likewise we don't want to infect somewhere like the Poor Knights with fan worm (or any other pest) either unintentionally or intentionally. Most boat owners get that and are onboard with it. And so far the councils and MPI are actually doing a pretty good job of finding it quickly and squashing it where it pops up in new places. Fanworm is pretty nasty but it's not the worst marine pest we could have he

It's both an economic and an environmental concern. To suggest that all pest control programs in New Zealand are undertaken solely for economic benefit would be misleading. The German wasp is being eradicated from our National Parks, at great expense, primarily to protect the environment. Yes there is a degree of economic concern involved because tourists don't like visiting parks where they get stung. Possums are controlled to protect the environment and reduce the spread of Tb. Yes there's an economic concern with Possums because Tb outbreaks create a cost to our health system.

I think the elephant in the room is that the marine environment is the Fan worms, not ours, our interest is economic not environmental. Think mussel / oyster farming etc. (after all the "pacific " oyster arrived the same way as the fan worm, and now it is an industry! Most things that have arrived in NZ whether on the wind from Australia or by sea from the Mediterranean or by ship or on an aircraft with us They all thrive in the NZ environment.

Most business changes are predicated by Accountants, not necessarily based on reality or what actually works. The death knell of TBT was based on its effect in Marinas (in France?) where because of the large No. of non mobile hulls (most of the time) allowed concentrations of TBT to accumulate to the detriment of the residents on the bottom. Its dispersal on moving hulls is and was negligeable in the scheme of things. I remember being anchored at Santorini in another lifetime and seeing all the local Caique's anchored over a volcanic vent that exuded acids that definitely stopped any grow

You do have to wonder at the people who write all this stuff.

Ha ha Good luck with enforcing that particular gem

I would not be surprised, This is now an industry funded by MPI and the Regional Councils. My short experience at a meeting at the Whangarei NRC office to discuss Fan Worn and other non native invaders was mostly about who is responsible for the eradication and the best way to fund this. Largely, how much of the cost would water users (us) be prepared to pay. None of the people running the meeting (nice as they were) had a yacht / boat had any actual experience of maintaining a vessel, nothing about the uselessness of currently dumbed down properties of antifouling paints. They seemed to not r