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About Aquatics

About Aquatics

Aquatic environments in South Australia are under threat from a range of introduced marine and freshwater pest species and diseases. Aquatic pests and diseases can have major impacts on levels of biodiversity and commercial industries, such as tourism and seafood, because they:

  • can out-compete native species for habitat and food;
  • adversely affect the ecosystems on which fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries often depend.

Once a pest or disease has been established eradication is not always possible and control is often a very expensive exercise. The most effective management options are to:
develop methods to minimise the entry of exotic species and diseases;
respond to new introductions or diseases before they become well established.

You can help

Early detection and monitoring by the community are vital tools in controlling the spread and minimising the impact of aquatic pests and diseases.

If you know what species are normally present in all aquatic habitats you can learn to recognise any unusual species or species showing an abnormal change in abundance.

You might not be able to identify a particular organism as a new invading species based on its shape or colour, but you might notice that this new organism has rapidly overgrown rocks and shoreline that historically had been a diverse community of other types of marine life.

Large numbers of dead or dying fish may be an indicator of the presence of a disease.  Any sightings of large numbers of dead or dying fish should be reported immediately.

What to do if you find an introduced species:

  • Record the location accurately (use Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates if possible
  • Record the depth and type of bottom (eg. sandy, rocky and so on)
  • Record how it was found, for example tangled in fishing tackle or anchor, drifting or sighted attached to a substrate
  • Collect a sample (except in an aquatic reserve) and store it in a plastic bag
  • Don’t throw any suspicious animal or weed back in the water
  • Report all sightings of suspected marine pests to the 24 hour FISHWATCH hotline on 1800 065 522


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