Conservation Council of SA's Feral or In Peril program has recently published a new booklet entitled "Boat Owners Guide: Caring for our Coastal Waters".
The booklet details practical ways to reduce boat running costs while looking after our coastal waters. The guide extends the long-running Feral or In Peril program by providing further information about marine pests and potentially threatened marine species, especially with regard to vessel maintenance and the identification and reporting of marine pests.
"Marine pests are great hitchhikers and readily attach themselves to hulls, internal seawater systems, or to boating gear such as anchors and buckets", said Carl Charter, Feral or In Peril project officer.
"Recreational boats are known vectors of marine pests and with more than one million recreational vessels in Australia, there is huge potential for pests to be inadvertently spread as boats move from one place to another.
"So our Boat Owners Guide is a real tool in helping to minimise these risks", said Carl Charter.
The booklet will be distributed for free to recreational boat owners around South Australia. Project officers are available to provide a short presentation about the Feral or In Peril program and the new Boat Owners Guide to any interested groups.
Current partners in this program include the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island NRM Boards, Biosecurity SA, Department for Environment and Natural Resources, Boating Industry Association SA and the Australian Government Caring for Our Country program.
For more information, a copy of the booklet and bookings for talks, contact Carl Charter, Feral or In Peril Project Officer:
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or (08) 8223 5155.
Further information on the Feral or In Peril program
The Conservation Council of South Australia's Feral or In Peril program is a citizen science program that encourages divers, fishers and boaters to report sightings of both introduced marine pests and native species of conservation concern. The program is based on the principle that it is better and more cost effective to prevent environmental damage than to repair it. It has been successful in reporting the first official record of the first European fan worm (introduced marine pest) on Kangaroo Island, with observations passed on to scientists and relevant government agencies to help them make informed management decisions.
Through these activities we are developing a state-wide early warning network capable of detecting some important introduced species before they establish, and keeping an eye on the spread of established marine pests. The native species of conservation concern are all animals about which very little is known and scientists would like more information. Sightings data we encourage includes information about habitat, precise location, size, number, and, if relevant, male/female. All sightings are able to be reported online through our website: http://www.reefwatch.asn.au/fpreport.
