photo: Tom Fish
Marine invasive species pose an ecological and economic threat to Pacific nations, says the founder of a New Zealand conservation and ocean science organisation.
James Nikitine, who founded Blue Cradle in 2020, said species of algae, molluscs and worms can travel the world and “attack local ecosystems” by riding on the bottom of ships.
Nikitine said the risk is greater now than before because of the “staggering” number of container ships in the ocean.
“If [invasive species] enter foreign waters and have a drastic impact on, say, a pearl farm somewhere in French Polynesia, the consequences would be in the hundreds of millions or [even] billions,” he said.
“As the water warms, we’re going to get more invasive species coming on board ships, we’re probably going to get more species moving from the tropics into the subtropics and temperate.”
“And that is exacerbated by increased shipping traffic, and exacerbated by the increased impacts of climate change.”
Blue Cradle Founder and CEO James Nikitine in Tahiti leads a workshop on marine invasive species in Tahiti.
photo: Blue Cradle
In New Zealand, Nikitine said the Mediterranean fanworm and the Asian seaweed, undaria pinnatifidam, are both invasive species.
He said that in French Polynesia, South African oysters are slowly reproducing, while in the Caribbean, lionfish – a native species of the Indo-Pacific – have taken up residence and become a pest.
The country took control of its numbers by commercializing it, using the fish for food and its parts as jewelry.
“Our strategy in the South Pacific will have to somehow potentially integrate some of those economic opportunities,” Nikitine said.
“If you mean the [seaweed] undaria, if this is resolved, are there ways we can use this seaweed for our own consumption or can we use it for alternative materials?”
He said the invasive seaweed is already being used as fertilizer in French Polynesia.
However, Nikitine said the conversation cannot become an economic conversation in which certain species are encouraged to enter the ecosystem.
According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), marine ecosystems are affected by both marine and terrestrial invasive species.
Invasive species are the leading cause of extinction of endemic Pacific species, SPREP’s 2013 State of Conservation in Oceania. [link https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/BEM/state-conservation-oceania-report.pdf] the report said.
The report states that marine invasive species have spread through ballast water and biofouling on ships’ hulls, as well as marine debris that they use as rafting habitats.
In the second [link https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/BEM/battling-invasive-species-pacific.pdf 2016 report]he warned that invasive species can change the entire local ecology, leading to the collapse of fisheries and the endangerment of endangered species.
“Pacific island countries need increased development and implementation of early detection and rapid response systems,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Blue Cradle held workshops in Tahiti and Mo’orea in September 2022, and in Auckland and Nelson in March this year to address the issue.
The workshops were held in partnership with New Zealand scientific organization the Cawthron Institute and the South Pacific Coral Reef Initiative.
Founder James Nikitine says oysters native to South Africa are slowly reproducing in French Polynesia.
photo: Blue Cradle
Blue Cradle has made a soon to be released documentary about invasive species, called Unwanted Passengers[linkhttps://wwwyoutubecom/watch?v=NAQCaaLPLl8[linkhttps://wwwyoutubecom/watch?v=NAQCaaLPLl8shortlyreleased[linkhttps://wwwyoutubecom/watch?v=NAQCaaLPLl8[linkhttps://wwwyoutubecom/watch?v=NAQCaaLPLl8shortlyreleased
