Introduced Marine Pests
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Introduced marine pests are species moved to an area outside their natural range generally by human activities, and that threaten human health, economic values or the environment.
Marine pests are introduced to Australian waters and translocated inside our waters by a variety of vectors, including ballast water discharged by commercial shipping, bio-fouling on hulls and inside internal seawater pipes of commercial and recreational vessels, aquaculture operations (accidentally and intentionally), aquarium imports, as well as marine debris and ocean currents.
Better known introduced marine species include the Black Striped mussel, the Asian Green mussel and the Northern Pacific seastar. Read more from the CSIRO Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests .
An Intergovernmental Agreement on a National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions was signed on 15 April 2005. The Australian Government and Victorian, Tasmanian, the Northern Territory and South Australian governments are signatories to this Agreement. New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland are yet to sign.
Parties to this Agreement agree that the intention of the National System is to provide effective and cost efficient procedures for the prevention, emergency response and ongoing management and control of marine pest incursions while providing a consistent and cost effective approach to border control, compliance and development of legislation.
The Agreement is intended to ensure that all sectors whose activities may lead to the introduction and translocation of marine pests will manage the associated marine pest risk and that measures implemented under the framework of the National System will be consistent with any current or future international agreements relating to introduced marine species. Read the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions