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A Message From Fisheries


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Caulerpa taxifolia (Caulerpa) is a bright green seaweed normally found in warm to tropical waters, including northern Australia. Caulerpa was first discovered in cool temperate waters of NSW in 2000 (Port Hacking). Since then Caulerpa has spread rapidly and is now recorded in 13 estuaries and lakes in NSW.

Caulerpa can be very fast growing and small pieces can fragment and grow into large beds. Thought to be transported through fishing, recreational boating, wind and wave action, and in the past by the aquarium trade, Caulerpa has the potential to impact native seagrasses and possibly reduce fish stocks.

For more information on Caulerpa please visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries.

Please report any suspected Caulerpa sightings on the aquatic pests line 02 4916 3877

Steven Kay

Aquatic Biosecurity Officer

NSW Department of Primary Industries

CtaxHNCMAfinalbrochure.pdf

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I disagree that this weed has a negative impact on fish populations and from my experiences is does not spread at a rapid rate. In 2003, there was an abundance of this weed in botany bay and there was much hype articulated at the time about disposing of the weed carefully. We have various areas in which we use crab traps which we have fished for many years and since 2003, i have not seen this weed. The reason i'm using crabbing is becayse we usually rip up a couple of handfulls of all types of weed but i have not seen it since. According to their assumptions, this weed should have colonised that area and spread dramatically. It didnt!

In the rare occasion that i do find the weed, i dont think its wise to be reporting its whereabouts. They closed port hacking to all forms of legal net-fishing (ie, crab hoops) due to this weed, now i dont want that happening to botany bay or sydney harbour.

I really think they need to take more initiative and pride in their work. Today i bumped into a fisheries member conducting a survey and he asked me whether or not sweep had a size limit? What the? :thumbdown:

DAN

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It has also decimated parts of Pittwater. It's very important to get the whereabouts known as these need to be no-achoring spots to prevent this weed getting moved to other locations. I think to try and conceal the locations is to take a short term view which would ultimately lead to our waterways becoming deserts.

Pittwater council and fisheries have had a public meeting on Caulerpa in Pitty and the outcome was less than desirable, ie. Fisheries said they were going to hope that a naural cycle would allow the levels to become accepetable. This is not very likely to happen. The sooner it can be jumped upon the better.

I hear what you're saying Dan, and I tend to agree that Fisheries are toothless, but I've seen more and more parts of Pittwater becoming fishless.

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