Voice of Commonwealth

What is under threat in the  Pacific?

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New Zealand (Common Wealth) _ According to the founder of a New Zealand-based ocean conservation and science organization, marine invasive species pose an ecological and financial threat to Pacific Island countries.

James Nikitine, the man behind Blue Cradle, said that species of worms, mollusks, and algae may “invade local ecosystems” by hopping on the underside of ships.

The “mind-boggling” quantity of cargo ships in the seas, according to Nikitine, has increased the risk.

“The consequences would be in the hundreds of millions or [even] billions,” he added. “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 trillions.”

As the oceans warm, more invasive species will be transported by ships, and more species will likely move from tropical regions to subtropical and temperate regions, according to the study.

Both the increased shipping traffic and the heightened effects of climate change are aggravating the situation.

James Nikitine, the founder and CEO of Blue Cradle, was in Tahiti presenting a session on marine invasive species.Picture of Blue Cradle

Nikitine claimed that undaria pinnatifida, an Asian seaweed, and the Mediterranean fan worm were both invasive species in New Zealand.

He said that South African oysters were steadily spreading over French Polynesia.

While the Indo-Pacific species native to the Caribbean, the Lionfish, had established itself and developed into a pest. The area has started commercializing the fish and exploiting it for food and jewelry as a means of population control.

Nikitine stated that “our strategy in the South Pacific will need to potentially incorporate some of those economic opportunities.”

“If you think of [seaweed] undaria, if it is settled, are there ways that we can use these seaweeds for our own consumption or can we use them for alternative materials?”

He said that French Polynesia already employed invasive seaweed as fertilizer.

Nikitine said that the discussion couldn’t turn into an economic one in which particular species were promoted to enter the ecosystem.

The Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) asserts that marine ecosystems are impacted by both marine pollution and and invasive species on land.

According to SPREP’s 2013 State of conservation in Oceania report, invasive species are the primary cause of the loss of endemic Pacific species.

According to the paper, marine invasive organisms are dispersed by ships’ ballast water, hull biofouling, and marine debris, which they exploit as raft homes.

Another assessment from 2016 cautioned that invasive species could change the entire local environment, causing fisheries to fail and endangering endangered species.

“Pacific island countries need increased development and implementation of early detection and rapid response systems,” it stated.

In the meanwhile, to address the issue, Blue Cradle held workshops in Tahiti, Mo’orea, Auckland, and Nelson in September 2022.

The Cawthron Institute and CRIOBE, a center for island research and environmental observatory, a science organization in New Zealand, collaborated to organize the sessions.

Through the Fonds Pacifique and the Pacific Enabling Fund of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it received funding from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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