In Tairāwhiti we treasure our waterways and are committed to protecting them from freshwater pests, now and for future generations.
Please take take extra care when moving between rivers and lakes to avoid unknowingly spreading harmful plant and fish pests in and around our region.
Protect our waterways
It only takes a tiny piece of aquatic weed, one drop of water, or a single fish egg to spread pests to new places. These pests can choke our rivers and lakes, make the water dirty and push out our native plants and animals.
So please check, clean and dry your gear to stop the pests from spreading.
Aquatic pests
Once invasive freshwater pests such as didymo, hornwort, the freshwater invasive clam, lagarosiphon or lindavia get into a waterway, they spread fast and are very hard and expensive to remove. They can push out native species, change the way the water looks and feels and limit how we enjoy our waterways.
The best defence is prevention!
Which pests? Learn more about freshwater pests in the Pest Control Hub
Check, Clean, Dry
between waterways
To help stop freshwater pests from spreading, follow these 3 steps every time you move between waterways:
- Check for what you can see
- Clean for what you can't see
- Dry to be sure.
Check - for what's visible
✓ Before leaving a waterway check boats, trailers, fishing gear, clothing, paddles and any other equipment for visible plant material, mud or clams. Remove anything you find and leave it beside the waterway or put it in a nearby rubbish bin.
✓ Make sure you drain all river or lake water from your equipment.
Remember a piece of plant the size of your thumbnail is all it takes to spread a pest - so please leave it at the site or dispose of it in a rubbish bin.
Clean - for what's not visible
✓ Before leaving a waterway, blast your gear and watercrafts with tap water and wash onto grass - not into drains or the stormwater system.
✓ For absorbent items such as clothing, life jackets, wetsuits, waders or booties use one of these treatments:
1. Hot water: soak in hot tap water 55°c for at least 5 minutes
2. Bleach solution: soak in 5% household bleach mix for one hour (for 5 litres of mix: 250mls bleach and 4.75 litres water)
3. Freeze: the item until solid, overnight is usually enough.
4. Salt solution: soak in a salt mix for 4 hours (for 5 litres of mix - 500g salt in 5 litres warm water)
Dry - to be sure
✓ Allow your gear to dry inside and out until it feels dry. Then leave it to dry for at least 48 hours (2 days) before using it in another waterway.
✓ For boats and other watercraft including kayaks, dry areas inside where water has pooled - an old towel works well. Then leave the craft to dry for at least 2 days. The outside of the hull will usually dry as it's towed.