Download 1 The importance of public consultation for pest fish management

The importance of public
consultation for pest fish
management
Community engagement
is the key to a successful
integrated pest fish
management program
Working together will help the environment:
Pest fish have been spread by humans in various ways:
The management of pest fish in Australia needs a
coordinated approach between all stakeholders
including government, industry, research providers
and the broader community. Community engagement,
acceptance and support are essential to the success
of an integrated pest fish management program; that
is, one that takes many approaches. Targeted public
education will:
•bait bucket introductions — although illegal in
many areas, sometimes live fish such as carp are
used as bait
•deliberate illegal stocking — pest fish might be
illegally put in a pond, dam or waterway
•deliberate release for cultural reasons — people
may be celebrating a special event and believe it
is ‘good luck’ to release fish
•discarding aquarium fish — when cleaning or
emptying a fish tank or aquarium fish can escape
or be disposed of incorrectly
•escape from aquaculture — mismanagement or
a natural disaster such as flooding can result in
escape of farmed fish
•escape from outside water bodies — similarly, the
accidental escape of fish in outside ponds, lakes
or dams can occur through mismanagement or
flooding
•transfer on commercial fishing gear — eggs or
juveniles of pest fish can be caught in nets or
fishing gear and accidentally transferred to
another water body
•water transfers — when water is moved by water
authorities, farmers or other business from a
water storage facility, lake or river and taken to
another place, pest fish may also be transferred.
•increase awareness of the harm that pest fish can
cause to the environment
•reduce the risk of people spreading pest fish
•improve the chances for the recovery of native
fish populations.
Pest fish, such as carp and tilapia, have spread
extensively across much of Australia, largely by
natural dispersal (movement through rivers and
streams) helped by floods carrying these fish into
areas normally isolated from the main river systems.
Unfortunately, humans have also played an important
and ongoing role in the spread of pest fish, especially
into new catchments1.
The significance of the majority of these pest fish
dispersal methods is that humans are involved in most
of them either deliberately or because they are not
aware of the consequences.
To help manage pest fish in Australia, the community
must be engaged and must be given accurate
information2.
Carp, Cyprinus carpio. Image: Lachlan Catchment Management Authority (CMA)
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Targeted education:
Cooperation
between
management
agencies,
community groups and sectors such as recreational
fishing, commercial fishing and tourism, is essential.
Partnerships need to be fostered through locally
developed and owned pest fish management plans.
Community education should consider cultural
groups and cater for their communication needs,
for example by providing multilingual resources.
Education products and key messages can be targeted
to particular community groups such as recreational
anglers and school groups and associated businesses
such as bait and tackle shops, boat clubs, ornamental
fish breeders and traders.
Adrian Wells of the Murray-Darling Association with the
New South Wales Fisheries’ River Revival Trailer talking to
school students. Image: Lachlan CMA
Improved community awareness and understanding of
pest fish issues can be achieved by targeted publicity
on:
•fish identification and general information
•recreational fishing regulations
•human behaviours assisting the spread of pest fish
•the impacts of pest fish species on community
assets and resources, such as water and fisheries
•national, regional and local strategies and control
programs
•limitations of management options and
opportunities presented by drought conditions.
National programs such as Waterwatch (a community
water quality network) aim to help communities
understand, monitor, protect, and restore waterway
and catchment health. As fish species are occasionally
collected and observed during water-quality
monitoring activities, there is increasing interest
in freshwater fish, which creates an educational
opportunity to highlight pest fish species.
Angler participation programs (eg Victoria’s ‘Diary
Angler’ program, Queensland’s ‘Keen Angler’ program
and Western Australia’s ‘Research Angler’ program)
provide potentially valuable opportunities to educate
anglers and obtain information about pest freshwater
fish incursions and distributions of fish species.
Fisheries–focused educational programs also include
the volunteer organisation of Fishcare (operating
for example in Victoria, South Australia, New South
Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia).
Curriculum-based education resources are available
on pests, sustainable fishing and aquatic pests.
The Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre
(IA CRC) and the Institute of Applied Ecology at the
University of Canberra, with funding assistance
from The Natural Heritage Trust, have produced
‘Pest Tales’: a module for upper primary school
students that explores the characteristics of pest
animals and the complexities of dealing with them in
Australia.
Queensland Fisheries have developed an ‘Aquatic
invaders’ educational module aimed at upper primary
to lower secondary school students. It was designed
to help students understand the impact of pest fish
infestations in natural waterways.
Online resources are available on the websites of state
and territory fisheries agencies. All these sites have
community education programs to varying extents
about pest fish. Most have specific online information
Community education programs:
State-based pest management frameworks and
strategies have been developed to provide direction
to government, industry and managers for the
management of declared and potential pests.
Education and awareness are identified as key goals
and actions needed for effective pest management.
2 feral.org.au
Pest Tales, an online resource for teachers of Year 5 and 6
students. Freely available at http://www.pestales.org.au/
and publications about particular pest freshwater fish.
Pamphlets, brochures and posters can be obtained
from some agencies, most with a focus on correct
disposal of ornamental or aquarium fish.
Who can help?
Links to self reporting forms and phone numbers for
the various state bodies:
New South Wales
Education and awareness
are identified as key goals
and actions needed for
effective pest managment
Community participation and extension
opportunities:
Community events such as carp fishing competitions
are targeted as family-friendly, fun fishing events,
with education also a high priority3.
The Invasive Animals Cooperative Research
Centre (IA CRC):
The IA CRC Freshwater Program project Engaging
Communities of the Murray–Darling Basin about
the Freshwater Products and Strategies Program
built on, expanded and enhanced the community
engagement process of the previous two and a half
years of the Pest Animal Control CRC’s research. This
included presentations on the Freshwater Program
at community events, local government council
meetings, schools, youth forums, state government
agency meetings, Catchment Management Authority
and other community activities and festivals4.
How can the public help?
Members of the public are often the first to discover a
new population of pest fish in the wild. This information
can be very valuable in helping to manage pest fish
problems. State and territory reporting systems vary,
but generally it is via a phone hotline.
To report suspicious activities, see the ‘Who can help?’
section for state and territory contacts. To report a
new pest fish incursion, visit http://www.feral.org.
au/dss/
Communities (through groups such as the National
Carp and Pest Fish Task Force) can encourage
local stewardship of the aquatic environment and
coordinate local group development and action. They
can also improve the quality of education used to
raise community awareness of pest fish and what can
be done to manage them.
•Department of Trade and Investment, Regional
Infrastructure and Services
•Online pest fish reporting form
•Ph 02 4916 3877 (recorded 24 hour service) or
email: [email protected]
Queensland
•Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries
•Online pest fish reporting form
•QLD FISHWATCH Hotline 1800 017 116 or contact
Queensland Fisheries on Ph 13 25 23
Northern Territory
•Aquatic Biosecurity
•Aquatic Pest Eradications
•Aquatic Biosecurity Ph 08 8999 2126 or 08
8999 5511 or 24 hour mobile 0413 381 094 or
email: [email protected]
West Australia
•Department of Fisheries
•WA FISHWATCH Hotline 1800 815 507
South Australia
•PIRSA Biosecurity Aquatics
•SA FISHWATCH Hotline 1800 065 522
Victoria
•Department of Sustainability and Environment
(DSE)
•DSE Customer Service Centre Ph 136 186 or
email: [email protected]
•Department of Primary Industries
•Illegal Fishing Hotline 13FISH (13 3474)
Tasmania
•Department of Primary Industries – Aquatic Pests
•Exotic Pest Hotline 1800 084 881
Australian Capital Territory
•Fisheries Management
•Environment Protection Authority Ph 13 22 81 or
email: [email protected]
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Further information:
1. Lintermans M (2004). Human assisted dispersal
of alien freshwater fish in Australia. New Zealand
Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
38:481–501.
2. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
(2009). Recreational Fishers Make Things Happen!
Stories About Fishers Improving Fish Habitat and
Making More Fish Naturally. New South Wales
Department of Primary Industries, Orange, New
South Wales.
3. Carp Fishing Competitions. PestSmart Toolkit
case study, Invasive Animals Cooperative Research
Centre, Canberra.
4. Wells A (2007). Community understanding and
attitudes to alien fish. In: D Ansell and P Jackson
(Eds), Emerging Issues in Alien Fish Management
in the Murray–Darling Basin: Statement,
Recommendations and Supporting Papers.
Proceedings of a Workshop held in Brisbane
Queensland 30–31 May 2006. Murray–Darling Basin
Commission, Canberra.
Brochure: 'Don't Dump Your Aquarium Fish', produced by
PIRSA. Available at http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/13091/aquarium_fish.pdf
The River Revival carp education trailer. Image: Lachlan CMA
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March 2012
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