1. The Management of Invasive Species in Marine & Coastal Environments
Module 2
Goals & Principles of Invasive Species Management

2. Module 2 Objectives
Outline the goals and basic principles of IAS management and how they apply to marine and coastal environments
Describe the steps in IAS management
Indicate the points at which management action can be applied

3. Management Goals Specific goals of management actions
Underlying goals, desired outcomes

4. Specific Goals of Management Actions
Prevent or minimise introductions
Prevent of minimise chances of
establishment and spread
Eradicate or control existing populations of invasives

5. Specific Goals of Management Actions
WHY?

6. Underlying Goals
Conserve/ protect marine & coastal resources & associated industries
Conserve local biodiversity
The ultimate goal of IAS management is to minimise threats to biodiversity, human health & welfare and economies.

7. General Management Principles
The Precautionary Approach
The Hierarchical Approach
The Ecosystem Approach
Sharing of Information
User Pays Principle
Cross-Sectoral Approach to Management

8. The Precautionary Approach
“Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”
(Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992)

9. The Precautionary Approach
Given the difficulties in :
Predicting invasiveness
Regulating pathways
Managing introduced species
When do you think the precautionary principle should be applied?

10. The Precautionary Approach
should be applied to:
Decisions to intentionally introduce any species, but especially those known to be invasive elsewhere
Decisions on which management measures to impose on pathways of unintentional introductions
Decisions on eradication, containment and control measures being applied to alien species that have already become established

11. Steps in the Hierarchical Approach
Prevention
Early detection & rapid response
Eradication
Containment
Long term control
Zebra mussel

12. The Hierarchical Approach
Prevention is better than the cure!
Once a species has established, it can be near impossible to remove, and very expensive to control
Zebra mussel

13. Obstacles to Prevention
Prevention is better than the cure!
What do you think might be some of the obstacles to the implementation of prevention measures?
Zebra mussel

14. Obstacles to Prevention
Prevention is better than the cure!
Lack of awareness
Lack of vision to take pre-emptive measures
Lack of capacity
Lack of funds
Zebra mussel

15. The Ecosystem Approach
“Ecosystem” means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit The ecosystem approach calls for integrated & equitable management of resources Examples?

16. Sharing of Information
Types of information to be shared:
Development of inventories and databases including species (native & introduced) distribution data
Incident lists and case studies
Potential threats to neighbouring countries
Information on taxonomy, ecology and genetics of IAS
Prevention and control methods where available
National and regional guidelines
National requirements/regulations regarding intentional introductions, such as imported species
National requirements/regulations regarding unintentional vectors, such as ballast water controls

17. User Pays Principle
Shipping Industry
Mariculture operations

18. Cross-Sectoral Approach to Management
Examples of Stakeholders include:
Environmental administrations
Quarantine, border and port authorities
Health & safety administrations
Transport administrations
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries managers
Trade administrations
Scientific institutions
Non-governmental organisations
Local communities

19. Application of Management Measures
Sites of application:
Pre-border
(before it leaves a country or en route)
Border
(before it enters a country)
Post-border
(within a country)
Chinese Mitten crab introduced from Asia to Europe: burrows into river banks causing them to collapse
Comb jelly introduced from US East Coast to Black Sea led to the collapse of the fisheries there – losses of billions of dollars

20. Pre-Border Management
What do you think might be examples of pre-border management for:
a) Intentional introductions?
b) Unintentional introductions?

21. Pre-Border Management
Intentional introductions –
- Environmental Impact Assessment, Risk Assessment
Unintentional introductions
E.g. Ballast water exchange, treatment

22. Border Management Hull inspections, verification of records,
mitigation procedures.
Hull fouling
Assessing compliance with ballast water
treatment/ management procedures, inspection of
treatment equipment, water sampling.
Ballast water
Unintentional Introductions:
Assessing compliance with import permit
requirements, including quarantine and treatment
measures, verification of species identity etc.
Mariculture and aquarium species
Intentional Introductions:
Associated Border Activity
Vector Type

23. Post-Border Management
Early detection, Rapid Response
Eradication
Control and mitigation

24. Management Examples Regular port surveys, monitoring, eradication,
control and mitigation.
Surveys and monitoring,
eradication, control and
mitigation.
Post-border
Assessment of compliance,
open-ocean exchange
records, equipment
inspection, water sampling.
Inspection of permits,
assess compliance with
permit conditions,
taxonomic identification,
quarantine procedures
Border
Management of uptake,
treatment en route, open-
ocean exchange.
EIA, permit requirements, treatment prior to export from country of origin.
Pre-border
Unintentional
Introduction:Ballast water
Intentional Introduction: Mariculture
Point of intervention

25. Creating a Supporting Environment
Contingency Plans
Legal & Institutional Issues
Promoting best practice management
Awareness raising
Codes of Practice

26. A coastal fishing company has applied for a permit to import species X for mariculture purposes.
The species is easy to breed; it grows quickly, can be fed cheaply and offers a high return on
investment. The importing of this species has been supported by a number of political, industrial
And community sectors as a solution to solving the problem of food shortage in the country and
as a means of developing coastal towns by offering employment to the local community. The
fishing company and the national department for trade & industry and the department of social
development wants to fast-track the importing of this species as they feel any delays will
cost both the company and the country. When answering the questions,forget your personal
opinions and your own position; in other words ROLE PLAY. How would you respond to the permit application as a member of:
The Ports Authority
The Department of Environmental affairs
The Local Community
The Local Scientific community?
When answering the question, consider the following
A. The best recourse against invasion is prevention and precaution, therefore which
precautionary measures would you insist be implemented?
B. Should anyone be held liable if any escapes occur or if something else goes wrong? If so,
who would that be?
C. Should treatment measures be implemented? If so, which can you insist on?
D. Would you insist on any research or scientific information? If so, what information would you need?

27. 2. The local community harvests intertidal algae for agar
2. The local community harvests intertidal algae for agar. They are concerned by the sudden appearance of something different on the shore; they have reported their concerns to you, as the local representative of the national department of environmental affairs. Although this species has a similar appearance to the species harvested, it effectively yields no agar. The species has been on the shore for a number of months but appears to be out-competing the harvested species and is becoming dense and spreading to neighbouring areas. The local community has therefore seen less financial gain from harvesting in the past few months.
A. What kind of response can you think of for eradicating this algal species?
B. If you cannot respond, what other recourse do you have?
C. How would you involve the local community in the treatment and the management of this invasion?