Mediterranean fanworm detection in Waikawa Marina

The value of the regular intensive surveillance carried out by Marlborough District Council has proven its worth in March this year with four Mediterranean fanworm discovered and removed from the marina.

Divers inspecting a vessel during the summer surveillance programme. (Photo credit: Boffa Miskell)

Contracted dive teams were carrying routine rounds of intensive surveillance when the fanworm were discovered. Three of the individuals were found on jetty piles with the fourth larger specimen on the seafloor nearby. This is the first detection of fanworm in the marina since May 2019 at which time a vessel new to the marina was found to be carrying mature fanworm.

The new finds were in a different part of the marina to where the 2019 vessel was berthed, so the determining the origin of these March 2024 finds will remain a mystery. Again, it demonstrates the value of regular surveillance in key high use areas to prevent the establishment of this highly invasive marine species.

Mediterranean fanworm discovered and removed from the marina.
(Photo credit: Marlborough District Council)

Story / Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Partnership