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Marine Pests
Introduced marine pests are plants or animals that are not native to Australia and have a significant impact on human health, fisheries and aquaculture, shipping and ports, tourism, environmental values, biodiversity and ecosystem health. Marine pest incursions also have a large financial impact.
Various species of plants and animals have become marine pests across the world. In the Australian marine environment, crabs, mussels, seastars and seaweeds have become marine pests. The exact number of marine species that have been introduced to Australia is unknown. Australian scientists have identified over 129 exotic marine species and 209 cryptogenic (of unknown origin) species in our waters [1].
Marine pests have been introduced to Australia and moved around Australia (or translocated) by a variety of human and natural means. Potential modes of transport, or vectors, for marine pests include:
- Ballast water (water carried by commercial ships to ensure stability, trim and structural integrity)
- Biofouling (marine organisms that attach to objects immersed in salt water such as vessels’ hulls, ropes, anchors and other equipment)
- Aquaculture operations
- Aquarium imports
- Marine debris
- Ocean current movements
Once introduced to an area, marine pests often thrive as they do not have any predators or competitors in their new environment.
Example of a Marine Pest
The Northern Pacific Seastar is believed to have arrived in Australia in ships’ ballast water from Japan 20 years ago. It is a voracious predator of native and commercially farmed shellfish. This species is already common in south-east Tasmanian waters and in Port Phillip Bay in Victoria and has the potential to cause environmental and economic harm in coastal waters from Sydney to Perth.
Download the CSIRO Marine Pest Information Sheet on the Northern Pacific Seastar 
PDF [130kb]
Further Information
Intergovernmental Agreement on a National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions which includes fact sheets on Introduced Marine Pests and Developing a National Approach to Fight Invasive Marine Pests.
National priority pests – Part II Ranking of Australian marine pests by the CSIRO PDF [3.3mb]
Reference
1. Hayes K. R., Sliwa C., Migus S., McEnnulty F. and Dunstan P. (2005), National priority pests – Part II Ranking of Australian marine pests. Final report for the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage, CSIRO Division of Marine Research, Hobart, Australia, 99 pp.
