SYDNEY, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A number of ports in Australia's tropical north near the Great Barrier Reef will be given an early-warning detection system to cope with invasive marine pests that can harm native sealife.
Queensland State Member of Parliament Scott Stewart who holds the seat of Townsville, on Friday said the installation of the high-tech devices is a necessary tool to protect one of the world's most pristine marine environments.
"Biosecurity Queensland has partnered with Queensland Port Authorities to deploy specially-designed detectors in the waters at the Ports of Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Gladstone and Brisbane, all of which are close to natural heritage areas."
"We need to keep our waters free of marine pests and busy seaports are a key pathway for entry."
"This partnership demonstrates that our port authorities are taking shared responsibility for marine biosecurity seriously."
Hoping to detect species like Asian green mussel, Black striped false mussel, Asian bag mussel, Brown mussel, Harris mud crab and Japanese seaweed, the detectors will be submerged for around two months to provide a surface area for marine organisms to settle and grow on.
When this time period is up, the plates will then be retrieved and taken to the laboratory to test for the presence of marine pests.
"Deploying this kind of system is an exciting first," Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said.
"This is a year-long surveillance trial which will run over the winter, spring and summer months, to allow for seasonal changes in environmental conditions at each of the ports."
"If invasive marine pests become established they could seriously impact our marine biodiversity as well as industries including fishing, ports, marinas and tourism."
"So if there are any signs of marine pests, this early warning will allow us to respond as quickly as possible," he added.
