ENVIRONMENT
> Keep foreign species out of our waterways
“They can get caught up in the coaching launch
rope and that becomes a big issue when coaches
travel to different waterways with their launch.”
>
on the boot of one American angler visiting the
country. Since then it is estimated that it has cost
the country up to 230 million USD.
New Zealand’s pristine waters,” says Thorpe. “It
seems the cleaner the river, the better it grows.”
Hunt-Davis believes the current awareness of
the problem is small in Great Britain. “I don’t think
people think about what they may be spreading to
different areas,” says Hunt-Davis. “It’s important
that all water users, not just rowers, are aware of
the impact they’re having on their environment.”
The campaign is being administered by Great Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA. Sean Armstrong, DEFRA’s press officer, says this campaign is one of several projects to prevent the spread of non-native species. “I’ve seen water covered in a green mat of plant life,” says Armstrong. “This impacts on the organisms in the water.”
A Biosecurity spokesperson for New Zealand’s
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Matthew
Thorpe, said the campaign has been pleasing.
“Some waterway users are more compliant than
others”, says Thorpe. “Rowers are very compliant
as it [didymo] impacts on the conditions at
regattas.” Thorpe cites popular South Island
regatta venue Lake Ruataniwha as a success with
rowers having installed their own cleaning station
that was planned and paid for by the rowers.
Remember: Check, Clean, Dry when you move boats from one body of water to another – in or out of your home country.
Maadi Cup participants in
New Zealand wear caps
mentioning “Check, Clean,
Dry”.
● M.S.B.
The Check, Clean, Dry campaign encourages
users of waterways to: check equipment and
clothing for live organisms, clean and wash all
equipment, footwear and clothing thoroughly,
and dry all equipment and clothing as some
species can live for many days in moist conditions.
“Areas affected by didymo are near impossible to
row on,” says Thorpe who notes that
for last year’s World Rowing
Championships the
organising committee
worked closely with
Biosecurity to make
sure boats coming
into the country were
clean.
This Check, Clean, Dry campaign is active in other
countries with the campaign roots going back to
New Zealand in 2005 when the North American
plant didymo – also known as rock snot – arrived
in the country. It is believed that didymo arrived
Didymo’s impact
is widespread. It
can block irrigation
systems, it reduces
fish numbers and it
looks ugly. “It loves
