| She
believes the limited number of surveys and shortage of
expertise have been major problems. "A key role of the
National Centre is to communicate," she said, with the
intention of improving collaboration and research
between all those involved with aquatic species.
There are thought to be more
than 150 exotic marine species already in New Zealand's
coastal waters and at least one new species arrives
every year. One of the most striking recent
introductions is the Asian paddle crab, which is far
more aggressive than New Zealand's native paddle crab.
They were first noticed by two fishers who caught them
in flounder nets in Waitemata Harbour. They now
outnumber the native paddle crab, two to one.
"It's possible that this
invasive crab reached New Zealand in the ballast water
or ballast intake pipes of vessels. But we may never
know for sure," said Dr Nelson. "They could also have
arrived here as larvae or juveniles on the hulls of
vessels."
Another recent discovery
was a goby. This little fish has bright iridescent blue
spots along its sides and was caught in shallow muddy
areas near seagrass beds and mangroves in the Waitemata.
It probably arrived in ballast water from Australia.
The new centre will
combine research work with expertise from other
institutions to meet the objectives of the New Zealand
Biodiversity and Biosecurity Strategy, launched by the
Prime Minister in February 2000. The strategy includes
assessment of the status of aquatic species and their
responses to human interventions as well as establishing
an inventory of living aquatic resources and dealing
with established and newly arriving alien species that
might threaten aquatic biosecurity.
The National Centre will
report its findings in a quarterly newsletter Aquatic
Biodiversity & Biosecurity. The first issue of the
newsletter is available on the Centre’s webpage:
www.niwa.co.nz/ncabb. |
