Marine Pest Survey of Norfolk Marine Park – thank you and initial observations

On behalf of the Biofouling Solutions team, I would like to thank everyone who welcomed and helped us during our 2022 Norfolk Island Marine Pest Survey. In particular, a big shout out to Mitch Graham who helped us gain access to the survey sites and provided invaluable ongoing local knowledge and advice. Over the two weeks we were on Norfolk Island (24 April-6 May), we were able to successfully survey Cascade Bay, Ball Bay, Emily Bay, Slaughter Bay and Kingston Pier. We were also fortunate to include some observations at Anson Bay, Bumbora Beach, and Cemetery Beach. Based on our observations, we did not detect any obvious high priority pests or species displaying unusual invasive behaviours. We are still awaiting the results of our phytoplankton and eDNA collections.

We hope to have final survey results by mid-June 2022. We will keep the community informed as results are finalised. It was an absolute privilege to visit beautiful Norfolk Island and have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people during our visit.

If you have any questions about the marine pest survey, please contact me (acoutts@biofoulingsolutions.com.au) or the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (Norfolkislandteam@infrastructure.gov.au).

This survey was funded by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, with the support of Parks Australia.