23 December 2014

Don’t Forget Didymo Checks this Summer

People going near a river or stream this summer are urged not to forget to ‘Check Clean and Dry’ as part of the normal practice of cleaning equipment.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council supports the national Didymo campaign and has again employed a university student to get out and about around the region’s waterways over summer to talk to people about the Check Clean Dry campaign.

Ariana McKay, a Hawke’s Bay woman studying ecology science at Auckland University, will be talking to boaties, fishers, campers and trampers around the region’s lakes and rivers over summer.

In the period around Christmas and New Year, Ariana will be focussing on freedom and DOC campsites.

Didymo is currently only found in South Island rivers and lakes where it can form a smelly mat. The Check Clean Dry campaign was started some years ago to prevent Didymo spreading northwards.

The campaign is now also used to help prevent several weeds in North Island waterways from spreading further, including Hawke’s Bay’s own nasty plant – hydrilla. Hydrilla is commonly called the world’s worst aquatic weed and in New Zealand is only found in the wild in four Hawke’s Bay lakes - Tūtira, Waikapiro, Opouahi and Eland - where it is being controlled by grass carp.

“By remembering to Check, Clean, Dry boats, equipment and boots when you come out of a lake or river, you will greatly reduce the risks of spreading any nasty aquatic weed,” says Ariana.

For suspected Didymo finds, contact the MAF hotline 0800 80 99 66. For further information on cleaning methods go to www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/didymo/cleaning.

“Many people don’t know that Hawke’s Bay is the only place in New Zealand where Hydrilla is found and that it’s a high risk weed. So I will be reinforcing that information with the Check Clean Dry reminders.”

Only tiny fragments of weed are needed to spread a plant. Aquatic weeds can remain viable almost indefinitely if kept damp, and then grow and spread if they drop into another lake, stream or river from the bottom of a boat, trailer, fishing gear or even a tramping boot.

Ariana will be handing out Check Clean Dry stickers and talking to people throughout Hawke’s Bay until the end of February.

ENDS

© Scoop Media