Management of introduced marine species risks in the Torres Strait (T3.2)

Task leader: Dr Kerry Neil, Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries.

When invasive marine species are introduced, they can cause fundamental, and often deleterious, impacts on fisheries and ecosystem resources, industrial development and infrastructure and human welfare. Over 250 exotic marine species have been identified in Australian waters and most are believed to have been unintentional introductions associated with shipping and mariculture activities. The Torres Strait region supports critical fisheries habitats and ecosystem resources, which sustain much of the local economy. There are many vessels, with high economic and ecological value, that transit the Torres Strait area, at high risk from invasive marine taxa.

Fundamental to controlling and managing the introduction and spread of introduced marine species is information about the present distribution and abundance of these species. However, this information is lacking for the Torres Strait region. Nor are there any strategies to detect and manage marine pest incursions to the area.

To determine the presence of introduced marine species in the Torres Strait, it is vital to collect information about the present status of marine assemblages, targeting areas likely to harbour marine pests. This information would be used to develop management strategies that minimise the risks that introduced species pose, so that we can protect the ecological and economic value of marine resources in the Torres Strait and adjacent tropical habitats.

Objectives

• Determine the presence and prevalence of marine pests in areas at risk in the Torres Strait region and develop knowledge of the taxonomic structure of native marine assemblages occupying habitats that are likely to harbour marine pests.
• Develop a knowledge base within Torres Strait people of introduced marine species and the appropriate tools for detecting and managing them.

Outcomes

• A greater awareness of the risks that introduced marine pests pose to the ecological and economic significance of regions like the Torres Strait.
• A baseline of knowledge about the coastal marine assemblages in the Port of Thursday Island.
• A baseline of knowledge about the presence and prevalence of introduced marine species that are already in the Torres Strait region.
• Information that will assist locals in recognising introduced marine pests, distinguishing them from native species, and responding to any pest incursion.
• A knowledge of sampling tools that would be appropriate to use in the Torres Strait region to screen periodically for introduced pests.