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I am not an expert in the "how" I am simply reporting my experience which I suspect is not too different to many peoples. I dont read NZ Geographic, no volunteer handed me a pamphlet, I dont read fishing mags and as far as Stuff and Herald- well the quality of the content is so abysmal that I skip through the headlines so for "consumers" of digital product like me there's a problem. Pretty easy to miss online and poof it disappears into the black hole of the net. I am not saying that there is no effort, but thats its not effective. How about on nowcasting instead of annoying garbage for

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/great-barrier-island-nz-port-5496 Great Barrier Island is located in outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, approx 100 km (60 mi) northeast of Auckland. The Island covers a total area of 285 km2 (110 mi2), ranking it New Zealand's 6th-largest. Its highest elevation point (Mt Hobson) is 621 m (2037 ft) above sea level. Cruise ships to Great Barrier Island dock/anchor at Tryphena - a port town on the southwestern coast. So there would be a possibilty this is where it came from pre 2022?

The bottom line is it's here. How it got here and where it came from is academic. MPI have spent 100's of thousands officially reaching the conclusion, that with the technology available today, NZ can't get rid of it and we're now in containment mode. It's known to be easily spread on boat anchors, chains and fishing gear. This is also how it was spread in the Med.

Cruise Ships, Freighters, Fish Tank nerds.... take your pick or probably all three are responsible. It's here and it 'aint going away.

$20 AUD https://www.z-aquatics.com.au/caulerpa-brachypus-macroalgae/

Good grief, is that how you react when you see an opinion you disagree with? Attacking the person, linking their view with fringe lunatics, but not actually stating what you disagree with and why? Kate Hannah much? Seeing as you went there, first. Please forgive me, but aren't you supposed to exchange views on a forum, or, as a moderator, is it your own little fiefdom to run down any opinion you disagree with? Now, lets go over your actual points: 1) I never said private enterprise would do it better. You made that up. I said that if a bureaucrat was in industry, they wou

I am not suggesting for a moment that your unnamed gagged experts opinion is impossible as others have pointed out strange things happen. You asked "what basis do I have". And after giving you my basis you proceed to hurl abuse. I think his opinion is unlikely for the reasons I have given. At no point did I say it's not used. Just not widely used. If you live on Great Barrier and are going to import an illegal aquarium plant you're probably going to import the most popular which is of course Aquarium Caulerpa. Snapper aren't widely seen in home Aquarium's either. Bu

https://marinehowto.com/bed-it-tape/

Show me a canal/river in the waikato region without koi carp. They everywhere. Bloody hard to catch so have taken to dragging a old tennis net and getting plenty.They stnk as we put them through a mincer for berley.

All of NRC's "bottom" diving, videoing, recording etc. has been funded by MPI. (from our taxes) At least that is what we were told at their "Fanworm" seminar in Whangarei a few months ago.. Strapped for cash?? they have just built an "office" in Dargaville. $9.2 million is the cost to rate payers on top of the almost $500,000 (from the provincial growth fund) they paid for the property. This was ostensibly to house the 2 staff members who had to drive from Whangarei and back every work day. They have sublet the surplus space to the Kaipara District Council, who have now vacated their older off

You laugh Carpediem, but this is exactly what the AC expert was talking about. Exceptionally easy to import. Put it in a bag of water, tie the top off, pop it in a box and post it. Keep in an aquarium then flush down the drain. Have you ever heard of long-necked turtles? I'll come back to Singapore again. Cruising yachts don't travel between Singapore and NZ. Oil tankers do. Oil tankers go into Marsden Point. Which way does the East Auckland Current flow? From just off Fungarie directly over Great Barrier...

I'm just repeating what the expert said. For your information. The main point being that there are alternative sources to cruising boat anchors. Given that Caulerpa brachypus is native to Singapore, and cruising boats don't go between NZ and Singapore, it is highly likely some other vector was used. To rule out the aquarium industry is a nonsense. It is a viable possible vector, and is the known cause of the biggest outbreak of caulerpa globally. Now riddle me this, how is it that caulerpa apparently can't survive in open water (hence the experts discount tides and currents

Aquarium Caulerpa (Caulerpa taxifolia) has not been detected anywhere in New Zealand. The Caulerpa at the Barrier is Caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa parvifolia. To suggest that someone knowingly and purposefully imported two types of Caulerpa that are not widely used in aquariums and then chose Great Barrier as a place to accidentally (or purposefully) release it, seems a like a stretch. It seems more likely that it reached Barrier on a boats anchor from a yet to be determined location somewhere else in NZ. Or it came on ships.

So there is no evidence or data to prove any one method of spread is more or less likely than any other. The only indisputable fact is that these things spread before humans and boats were invented. Everything else is conjecture. It also appears the various bodies tasked with responding have no tools to deal with it and no plan nor clear goal. IMHO we just have to wait until any new arrival inevitably spreads and they give up. Just hope they don't make life too miserable for us in the meantime.

After reading these informed comments it appears that dirty anchors are a bigger risk of spreading introduced species rather than 6 month old antifoul?

Thanks K 1) Perhaps I misconstrued your message. Accepted - thanks for hte clarification, and please accept an apology. 2) MPI has said it is possible / probable. Thats not blame, its asserting a hypothesis. It's a realistic hypothesis, as is tidal drift etc. 3) There is no hard evidence for anything about it except for its existance (and its spread through tidal movement). It could have come from a number of sources, some more likely than others. Thats doesn't mean boats are not the cause, nor does it mean they are the main cause - the fact is, no-one knows at this point.

Hiya K I haven't seen any pilloring, care to point it out? I haven't seen any evidence the caulerpa in the NZ wild is an aquarium type (information I've read says there are two aquarium varieties, and a different variety in the wild in NZ). Anchoring is banned because it disturbs and distributes the weed. Afaik, no international shipping has anchored at the Barrier, only recreational boats. So yeah, boaties are a vector that has to be considered and controlled (possibly the only one that can be controlled) while control is still the approach. No control is absolute, so it is

I have a spare roll of this you can have for $20 + postage. https://www.theboatwarehouse.com.au/boat-building-maintenance/tapes/butyl-tape-white-10m-x-20mm-roll/

I have 2 Rolls of the Sailrite version in stock $50 each + courier if needed.

But nothing on the impact of recreational boating on its ability to spread, nothing on what they hope to achieve and nothing on how to achieve that or how they would measure success. Plus a little information on progress to date would be nice. Oh yeah, let's chuck in at least some kind of response to questions about shitty antifouling and closing slipways.

I would still like evidence that we're a problem, and that the steps being taken have at least a probability of working. To do that they would have to define working.

But seriously . Someone needs to talk to the Americans yesterday about their eradication techniques . Rather than piss around with think tanks with boaties . The horse may have bolted for barrier and the mercs but it could possibly be kept under control if action is taken very soon . I imagine it would be a game of whack-a-mole but the alternative is rampant spread whilst hang wringing think tanks are taking place .