Pop-up stand in Whitianga targets marine biosecurity, water safety

Waikato Regional Council will help arm boaties and visitors to Whitianga with knowledge about marine biosecurity and water safety.

A pop-up stand will be set up at the wharf on 2 January 2024 where people can get information and ask questions about the Clean Below? Good to Go programme and the region’s maritime safety rules.

The first 50 visitors who are owners of boats that are moored at a Coromandel marina or are a member of a Coromandel Fishing Club will get a special gift-pack from Boating New Zealand magazine and Clean Below? Good to Go.

Senior Biosecurity Officer Danielle Kruger says with exotic caulerpa on the Coromandel Peninsula’s doorstep, it’s essential that all boat owners have access to true and correct facts about the steps they can take to help stop the spread of marine pests.

“Anything that goes in the water can carry marine pests,” says Danielle. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a small dinghy or a game fishing launch.”

Caulerpa, which was first discovered in New Zealand at Aotea/Great Barrier Island in 2021 and has since been found at Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island, can form thick mats or meadows over just about any underwater surface. It is mostly spread via fragments and can easily break up during storms or by boat anchors, divers' actions or fishing equipment.

“Caulerpa grows rapidly and is the latest biosecurity risk in the Coromandel Peninsula,” says Danielle. “But there are a number of other invasive marine pests, like Mediterranean fanworm, that are found in the North Island and not the eastern Coromandel, and we really want to keep them out.”

Danielle says the scary thing is that you can be carrying an invasive pest on your hull or equipment and not even know it.

“There are steps you can take to minimise this risk.”

The council’s Operation Neptune summer boat safety programme runs for about three weeks during the summer boating peak period between Boxing Day and 14 January 2024, taking in popular coastal, lake and river boating areas across the Waikato region.

Operation Neptune is about providing a proactive presence on the water, with the emphasis on boating safety and enforcement of boating rules.

A team of maritime safety officers will be deployed on nine council-branded vessels – featuring flashing lights and sirens or horns – or be working close to the water, such as at boat ramps and wharfs.

The pop-up information stand will run from 10am-2pm on 2 January 2024. If the weather is bad, postponement will be posted on the Facebook pages of Clean Below? Good to Go and Waikato Regional Harbourmaster.