Port surveys for introduced marine species- and the fate of the material collected

摘要

Over the past decade or so Australian authorities have become aware of a large number of non-native marine species having been introduced into Australian waters from the result of shipping activities, both commercial and recreational. Some of these species have become serious pests, for example the Pacific Starfish (Asterias amurensis) (Ross et al., 2002) and the fanworm (Sabella spallanzanii) (Cohen et al., 2000; Currie et al., 2000) and others have caused health concerns such as toxic dinoflagellates (Hallegraeff, 1998). The Pacific starfish, which was first recorded from the Derwent River, Tasmania in 1986 (Buttermore et al., 1994), has been transported across Bass Strait and is now well established in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria (Garnham, 1998; O'Hara, 1995) with a population estimated at 12 million as of 2001. With one exception, no pest species has been successfully eradicated from Australian waters; the Black-striped Mussel, Mytilopsis sallei was successfully eradicated from Cullen Bay Marina, Darwin Harbour, shortly after it was detected in March 1999 (Russell and Hewitt, 2000). Early detection, rapid response time and the enclosed nature of the marina all played a part in the successful eradication of this species, which appears to be a world first.