K4309

I'm actually quite interested in these native species of caulerpa, but haven't been able to find any information on them yet. Any google search for anything related gets buried in stories about the exotic species. To compare attributes to the exotic species, particularly range, habitat and growth rates. I was under the impression that both exotic species were toxic, both from the expert at the boatshow and comments on here. So I was surprised to see that statement on the MPI site that they are not toxic, or at least they do not cause toxicity in edible fish. It is not actually clear from

Given the initial infestation in Bland Bay had clearly been there for some time, I think it is highly likely that there is more of it around that just hasn't been found or identified yet. There is nothing to suggest the Bland Bay / Barrier infestation was the first patch of growth in NZ. The stuff at Bland Bay was only discovered because an ecologist was there on holiday, and decided to put a photo of the stuff on a citizen science page cause he didn't know what it was. How many of us bother to find out what genus and species the green sh*t is on the beach when we go for a walk? Noti

Note: The 2 exotic species of caulerpa present in New Zealand at Aotea Great Barrier Island and Ahuahu Great Mercury Island do not contain this toxin and do not create any food safety issue with consuming fish. Aquarium Caulerpa | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz) So, brachypus and the other one is not toxic. Only the main fish tank variety is. Is this then not the solution to our kina barrens?

Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks MPI / Biosecurity NZ is doing a sh*t job. Council seeks urgent Ministerial meeting over seaweed threat 15 May 2023, 9:15 AM A ‘manifestly insufficient’ response by Biosecurity New Zealand to the threat posed to Taitokerau by invasive Caulerpa seaweed has prompted the Northland Regional Council to seek an urgent meeting with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. In a letter to the Minister the council says the threat posed by the seaweed

Erm, so how did the NZ native species of Caulerpa get here?

There are potential positives to Caulerpa: We have a problem with kina barrens right? If kina eat this stuff they go sterile. So, it may well create suitable habitat for nursery fish, and, tadaa, re-balance the Hauraki Gulf. Providing the caulerpa doesn't smother other food sources, this could work really well. The photos I've seen show the eclonia still growning, with the caulerpa around the base. Could just work. The other thing is the carbon sequestered growing this stuff. Carbon sequestered in the oceans is enough to reverse climate change. There are many projects underway to gro

No one has claimed these strains are only in Singapore, you have made that up. Same as the moderator making sh*t up. I relayed that the expert said they are native to Singapore. You have decided to add in 'only' native to Singapore. The basic problem here, is that when confronted with facts that don't confirm with what ever narrative you've all been indoctrinated in, you getting your undies tied in a knot. MPI have put out the narrative that boaties are the problem. When presented with actual facts, instead of an indoctrination, you really don't like it. There is a viable alternative

Are you a bit thick? Brachypus is used in aquariums. A quick google search will show 4 aquarium companies that sell it online. Ex Machina has already shown you a link of where to get it, which you laughed at. It is used to absorb phosphorous and nitrogen, to keep the water healthy. To reduce the P and N it grows rapidly and is then removed from the aquarium, as a waste product. The question is how it is disposed of. Same as long-necked turtles. Again, all I am doing is repeating the opinion of the AC expert. This is a guy that has worked for 30 years in marine biology in the US

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

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

So what has any of that got to do with conspiracies and burning effigies at Parliament?

The official website disagrees with your point. Do you understand why people are confused now? They say: What you can do Keeping your boat and equipment clean is the best thing that you can do to avoid spreading marine pests, including exotic Caulerpa. Exotic Caulerpa — Clean Below? Good to go. (marinepests.nz) Edit: To find the controlled area notice you have to click a link to the MPI website, look through a long list of bullet points, find a link about halfway down, click on that link, which takes you to a page with a couple of other links, and on that page cl

Where did that come from Aardvark? almost sounds like a personal attack. Completely irrelevant to the topic or thread. Disappointing coming from a moderator. The basic point is, there is no evidence boaties are spreading anything. But MPI are publicly pilloring boaties. Further, after lengthy personal, face to face conversations with two officials, one being a specialist on caulerpa, they believe it is most likely the aquarium trade. Further again, if anchoring is banned in these areas, how could a boatie spread it? If this does turn into a situation where snapper are inedible due to

There are a couple of elements about how this is spread that bug me. That MPI are just out and out blaming boaties. Lets break that down. For a boat to move it from Barrier to BoI - there are anchoring bans on Barrier. To move it to BoI, a boat must have anchored at Barrier. Sooo, are they not effective? Are they not monitoring and controlling the anchoring ban effectively? Or, has it already spread to 'open' bays at the Barrier? So that would mean that MPI's monitoring is not effective? Given that all outbreaks have been discovered by the public, how effective is MPI's monitori

Which agency handles threat to horticulture? Its still MPI isn't it? To be fair, I think they are hopeless there as well. They got sued by the Kiwifruit industry for the response to PSA (Industry won I believe). And who can spell M. Bovis? That response warrants its own thread.

The truth of the matter was that the expert I talked to yesterday did not know how caulerpa got to the Barrier, nor how it spreads. He was a very knowledgeable guy with substantial international experience, and not just some desk jockey (ex US govt diver, ships captain and marine researcher for 30 years). When they say it came by yachts, they are just widely guessing. That, and within the remit of their empire, yachts are the only thing they have power over. Shipping is controlled by other empires. They say it can't have come by shipping, cause all the ballast water has filters on it. Acc

In this siloed structure of MPI, NRC, AC etc, I can't see the consequences of their decisions being a factor at all. It is "someone else's problem". But I doubt banning anchoring and the associated cruising would have that much of an economic impact. We bring our own accommodation and food. Unless you own the Burnsco, fuel berth or the fishing shop I doubt you'd be impacted. There would be a longer term impact on the travel lift and allied marine industry. Historically, the primary industries in Northland has been growing weed and the Department of Social Welfare. Kerikeri / Opua is

I spoke to a specialist on this at the Boat Show today. He is AC's Biosecurity guy. Incidentally he was the guy that kicked off the issues with needing to keep The Landing open to provide biosecurity capability. He couldn't say anything on that as he's been gagged. I shook his hand anyway. I challenged him on how it got here and the allegation that yachts spread it. He believes it is most likely that it got into NZ as an aquarium plant. It is very popular in aquariums as the fish don't eat it. On shipping, he says that is unlikely, as ballast water is now filtered, both on intake and disc

Are you wanting through hull boat speed, or GPS speed? As HT says, there are numerous fish finder units that will give you depth and speed, starting from a tad under $300 up. Basic (small) chart plotter functions. The catch with these (and any unit you may want with through hull speed) is that the depth transducer is transom mounted (designed for fizz boats). These transom mounted ones are cheap as chips. As soon as you want a through hull, the cost goes up immediately. You can get sounder through hulls from about $200, providing you already have a chart plotter to run them. As

Many of you here will remember Rigger from this forum. Rigger worked as a tug boat captain at port of Tauranga. He sadly passed away last year from Parkinson's Disease. A new pilot boat has been named the Troy Evans, in honor of Rigger. It arrived today in Nelson from Melbourne, on route to Tauranga. I thought it was a nice acknowledgement of Rigger, naming the new boat after him, and that you would like to know.

A new iPhone retails for $1,400. There are various plans with One.nz that mean you can get a new phone for less outlay, but still pay through the nose over the term of the contract. I think the big breakthrough is One.nz having access to Starlink to allow satellite comms on their network when outside of coverage. I'm not aware of any other phones having that capability just yet, but it is Starlink that is enabling it. A couple of the other mobile network companies are indicating they will have the same tech and functionality soon. Given the cost and durability of a PLB at $450-$500,

You can get zinc enamel spray paints that would be an good application here. Far easier and cheaper than doing a re-galv. If it is only sitting in a locker it will work fine. Will stop it rusting. As soon as it drags through some sand and shell the zinc paint will come off, but if it is your spare, you can worry about that then. Will stop it rusting in a locker.

So now you're saying its nothing to do with Council responding to the weather, and its because the Council is broke? Not the most compelling of arguements when they fall over immediately. It wont cost Council anything to reinstate the hardstand. They don't have to fund it. Funding all the Matariki / Dewali / Pride celebrations costs the Council dollars, that is why we are broke. The hardstand was always self funding. It is the service that is required for biosecurity. Again, the Council's obligations under the Biosecurity Legislation don't stop , same as the Council's obligations don

Nonsense. Council isn't doing anything about the weather, or the response to the flooding. At best, Auckland Transport are dealing with the response to the flooding. Fixing roads, bus services etc. Council have nothing to do with any of that. Even the Mayor isn't doing anything (other than sleeping). Sure, the PR department have been tweeting a bit, and the Deputy has been doing pressers, that is all. But Council still have a legislative requirement to manage biosecurity. That requirement doesn't lapse cause it rained yesterday. Council maintains (wrongly in my view) that b