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Biosecurity New Zealand works in partnership with local mana whenua and the Northland Regional Council to respond to exotic Caulerpa

Frozen Seaweed
Seafood
New Zealand
Published May 31, 2023

Tridge summary

Biosecurity New Zealand, local mana whenua, and the Northland Regional Council are working together on next steps after divers searching the waters around Te Rāwhiti, the Bay of Islands, found a substantial amount of exotic Caulerpa seaweed, suggesting it’s likely been in the area for a number of seasons. Biosecurity New Zealand and its partners have been responding to an earlier detection of what was believed to be exotic seaweed found washed up on a beach in the Omākiwi Cove area earlier in the month.

Original content

Biosecurity New Zealand’s deputy director-general Stuart Anderson says while the find of large areas of exotic Caulerpa is disappointing, it isn’t unexpected. "Climate change, warmer temperatures and the ease of international movement will continue to present biosecurity challenges, but we’re committed to work through them with our partners, including local councils and mana whenua. "We expect to have a controlled area notice (CAN) in place next week for a defined area around Omākiwi in the Bay of Islands, which will set restrictions and conditions. Local mana whenua may also put in place a Rāhui. The extent of the CAN will be further reviewed when delimiting surveillance in the area is completed by the end of next week, weather permitting. "We have initiated a technical advisory group (TAG) to look at suction dredging which has had some recent success in controlling exotic Caulerpa in California and we’re also organising to send a small group of scientific experts and mana ...
Source: Mpi
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