[ Stock & Land 04 Aug 2011 p. 55] ALTHOUGH the Landcare movement has come to be defined by the land, its work continues offshore, too. In Victoria’s Apollo Bay, volunteers are waging war on an invasion of Japanese kelp. Better known to Japanese food enthusiasts as the edible seaweed wakame, Japanese kelp is an opportunistic marine weed which can rapidly colonise disturbed or new surfaces. It tends to form dense forests, crowding out the light and space of other native plants and animals, including abalone, rock lobster and oysters. The seaweed also fouls marine infrastructure like mussel lines, vessel hulls and fish cages. In rough seas, it washes up on beaches and rots.
Faced with an invasion of Japanese kelp in Apollo Bay, a call for divers was put out through dive groups, websites, forums, radio and the media. Two volunteer dive days were run in November and December 2010. More than 60 volunteers (pictured) took part, including a group from Reefwatch South Australia. Over three tonnes of kelp was removed over the two days.
"The two dive days were a great example of the community taking positive action against marine pests," said Mark Rodrigue, program leader of Marine and Coasts, Parks Victoria.
"Marine pests are a challenging area of marine conservation and the volunteer efforts were a fantastic example of what people power can do to reduce marine pest impacts and generate awareness." The agencies and groups involved included the Victorian departments of Sustainability and Environment and Primary Industries, Parks Victoria, Colac Otway Shire, Southern Otway Landcare Network, Otway Coast Committee (which offered free camping for divers), Field Naturalists of Victoria Marine Research Group (which studyied critters brought up through the dives), Apollo Bay Sailing Club, and the Apollo Bay Country Women’s Association (suppliers of hot soup and food). Contact DSE, 136 186, or to keep up with any new Japanese kelp updates contact Luke Hynes, solnluke@vicnet.net.au to subscribe to the Japanese Kelp mailing list.
