Weeds: Fish tank plants checked for menace
From the February 2007 edition of Agriculture Today.
Identifying potential major aquatic weeds in home fish tanks or fish ponds is an important component of protecting Australian waterways.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) weeds unit at Grafton is working with communities to pre-empt weed problems before they cause devastation to our waterways.
As many as three-quarters of our current aquatic weeds were introduced into Australia through the aquarium plant trade and have escaped into waterways after sale.
So it makes sense that future serious aquatic weed threats could come from the same source.
To catch these weeds before they get to our waterways, NSW DPI, in partnership with the NZ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, is conducting a research project with funding from the Federal Government’s Defeating the Weeds Menace program.
The project will involve a risk assessment of aquatic plants sold within the aquarium and nursery trade to identify any with high potential to become weeds.
Growth patterns of high-risk species will be researched in a purpose-built facility at DPI’s Grafton research station to determine their level of threat to waterways.
Results will be used to guide future aquatic weed declarations in all of Australia’s States and territories, and it is likely to involve removing species with high-weed risk from sale.
Cabomba and salvinia are examples of introduced aquarium plants that have become significant environmental weeds.
Both are now included on the list of 20 Weeds of National Significance.
They originated from South America and now pose serious economic and environmental threats to Australia, including reduced habitat values, poor water quality and clogging of irrigation channels.
Several million dollars is spent on managing these weeds in NSW alone, which is on top of the lost agricultural/fisheries production and environmental costs.
Cabomba, a submerged plant, was once a popular aquarium plant and has spread to waterways in Far North Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Salvinia is a floating aquatic weed that was also introduced as an ornamental plant.
Its current distribution includes the South Coast of NSW through to Cairns in Queensland and also parts of Western Australia and Kakadu, Northen Territory.
In future, the aim is to identify and remove any weed threats from sale before they can get into waterways.
Contact Andrew Petroeschevsky, Grafton, (02) 6640 1600.
