National Marine Pest Surveillance Strategy

Activity 1.1

Develop an understanding of factors associated with incursion pathways (including vessels that may affect the likelihood of introducing of marine pests).

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has been conducting sampling of ballast water from ships arriving into Australia. The sampling aims to assess compliance with the ballast water D-2 requirements.
• The Domestic Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention is being reviewed, which assesses shipping movement patterns within Australian waters and levels of ballast water compliance.
• A pilot program is planned to enhance the prediction of future marine pest risks by identifying species occurring outside their expected range. The program involves the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and iNaturalist.

Activity 1.2

Relevant authorities to identify priority surveillance locations for marine pests based on outcome of 1.1.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• Priority surveillance locations across Australia have been identified in ports, marinas, defence sites, beaches, and marine protected areas.
• State and Territory biosecurity agencies are implementing marine pest surveillance programs across Australia, such as the Western Australian State-wide Array Surveillance Program (SWASP) and the Queensland Seaports eDNA Surveillance (Q-SEAS) Program. Please contact MPSC@aff.gov.au for more information.
  • State-wide Array Surveillance Program (SWASP) (PDF 1.7 MB)
  • Seaports eDNA Surveillance (Q-SEAS) Program
• Stakeholders are being engaged to undertake surveillance. These include port authorities, commercial divers, aquaculture, marina and slipway operators, indigenous rangers, researchers, and the local community. Materials have been developed to aid in passive surveillance and distributed to key stakeholders such as marina/slipway operators.
• State and Territory biosecurity agencies are developing resources for stakeholders to undertake surveillance at priority locations, including development of stakeholder training and education programs, state-specific surveillance strategies, and establishing stakeholder working groups. Please contact MPSC@aff.gov.au for more information.

Activity 1.3

Maintain an agreed list of priority pest species for surveillance.

Status: Complete

Summary:

• The List of priority marine pest species for surveillance has been developed and published on the Marine pests website. The list will be updated as required.
• The Marine Pest Sectoral Committee (MPSC) checks regularly to see if any marine pests should be added or removed from priority lists such as the Australian Priority Marine Pest List.
• Priority lists are used to support surveillance, preparedness, and response management for these species.

Activity 2.1

Develop new and maintain existing surveillance tools and information for priority pest species for use in marine pest management.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• We are developing updated guidance resources on marine pest surveillance. Aiming to replace the Australian marine pest monitoring guidelines along with the Australian marine pest monitoring manual. The updated guidelines will be used to plan and coordinate new surveillance activities.

Activity 2.2

Provide advice on use of surveillance techniques such that methods used across and between State and Territory biosecurity agencies are quantifiable.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• We have created a repository of relevant marine pest molecular studies that can support marine biosecurity research and surveillance in Australia.  See the Marine pest molecular studies relevant to Australia.
• We have also developed a list of molecular diagnostic facilities that can support marine pest surveillance.

Activity 2.3

Incorporate guidance for components of surveillance in the Emergency Marine Pest Plan.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• Molecular assays are an important surveillance tool that allows for accurate identification of marine pests. Molecular assays have been validated for a range of marine pest species. Where appropriate, information on these assays has been incorporated in the Emergency Marine Pest Plan (EMPPlan) resources.
• Policy principles for determining the status of marine pests have been developed. These principles are available on request and will be published in national guidance resources.
• We are developing National Guidelines on determining the Current Status of Marine Pests. The Guidelines will be used in conjunction with the Policy Principles for determining the Current Status of Marine Pests and to guide future marine pest surveillance within Australia.
• Please contact MPSC@aff.gov.au for more information.

Activity 2.4

Ensure validated molecular detection techniques are nationally available for priority pest species.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• An updated list of the molecular detection tools for priority marine pests has been developed. This list is available for download online and will be updated as required.
• Work is underway to validate PCR assays for 11 priority marine pest species.
• A project has commenced to sequence more than 60 marine species of biosecurity concern in northern Australia as part of the National Biodiversity DNA Library (NBDL). The NBDL aims to improve early detection capabilities in marine pest eDNA surveillance.
• Improved methods have been developed to detect the eDNA of Asian kelp/wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis), European fan worm (Sabella spallanzanii), Asian date mussel (Arcuatula senhousia), Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus), and carpet sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum). The methods identify the most efficient water filtration size to capture the eDNA of these six marine pest species to improve early detection.

Activity 2.5

Review and provide guidance on pest distribution modelling techniques that may be used in surveillance programs.

Status: Commenced

Summary: A project is underway to review the existing techniques that can be used to model marine pest distributions. Modelling marine pest distributions can assist with surveillance and inform response and management.

Activity 2.6

Facilitate passive surveillance by identifying mechanisms and resources required.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• National engagement material for marine pests has been compiled and is available on the OceanWatch website and is currently being updated.
• A gap analysis completed in early 2020 identified four sectors to be targeted for marine pest awareness: Ports, Marinas, Divers and Aquaculture. Materials such as posters, fact sheets, waterproof marine pest ID cards and digital materials have been developed and distributed to these four sectors. The posters and fact sheets are available for download.

Activity 2.7

Develop and implement a national marine pest surveillance data repository.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• The National Introduced Marine Pest Information System (NIMPIS) is a central repository of marine pest information. NIMPIS contains detailed information on the biology, ecology and distribution of marine pest species known to have been introduced to Australia or considered to be a risk of future introduction. The surveillance data and species information are updated as required.

Activity 3.1

Develop a National Marine Pest Surveillance Work Plan.

Status: Complete

Summary:

• The Marine Pest Sectoral Committee developed and published the National Marine Pest Surveillance Work Plan in 2021. The work plan will be used to guide implementation of the National Marine Pest Surveillance Strategy throughout 2021-2026.

Activity 3.2

Review Marine pest surveillance activities and data sets relevant to Australia.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• A review of surveillance activities and datasets relevant to Commonwealth Places has been completed and the findings were shared with the Marine Pest Sectoral Committee (MPSC). Following this work, State and Territory biosecurity agencies intend to undertake reviews of surveillance activities and datasets relevant to their jurisdictions.

Activity 4.1

Identify and engage stakeholder groups (including government) and educate on the importance of marine pest surveillance.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• A baseline survey is being planned to tailor existing and future marine pest education and engagement activities. The survey results will help establish a baseline of stakeholder knowledge and participation levels in marine pest activities.
• State and Territory biosecurity agencies are planning on developing a marine pest surveillance training program, which can be used by governments, educators, and sector groups to assist with identification, surveillance, and reporting of marine pests.
• Passive surveillance, education and awareness materials have been developed and distributed to the ports, marinas, divers, and aquaculture sectors across Australia.
• Education materials including physical models of marine pests, visual presentations, and junior marine biosecurity officer programs have been developed for schools to support education and awareness. Please contact MPSC@aff.gov.au for more information.

Activity 4.2

Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders to encourage surveillance, data sharing and early reporting.

Status: Commenced

Summary:

• State and Territory biosecurity agencies have been actively involved with sharing their marine pest work at symposia, conferences, workshops, and forums to help maintain relationships with stakeholders and the research community. A ‘Marine pests and pathogens’ symposium will take place at the 59th annual Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) 2025 conference, which  will be held from 13-17 July 2025 in Melbourne, Victoria. Please contact MPSC@aff.gov.au for more information.

Activity 4.3

Support and develop international partnerships, to improve surveillance tools and capability.

Status: Not commenced