Introduced marine species: Management arrangements of consideration for the Torres Strait

Abstract: Introduced marine species (IMS) can have significant impacts on economic, ecological, social and cultural aspects of coastal marine environments. There is, therefore, a need to minimise these impacts through the implementation of comprehensive and consistent management strategies and monitoring processes that work towards preventing introductions, detecting introductions if they were to occur and managing incursions should they be detected. There is also the need to ensure that approaches taken are comparable to provide consistency of IMS management effort, particularly across areas that are multi-jurisdictional (e.g. spanning State or Territory borders). A number of studies have examined IMS, their vectors and management arrangements for the Torres Strait region, a multi-jurisdictional area between Queensland, Australia and Papua New Guinea. This paper presents information from a baseline survey conducted in the Torres Strait for marine pests in conjunction with a synthesis of information from other studies on IMS risks, their vectors and management strategies of relevance to the Torres Strait region. A number of strengths, but also gaps, between the various jurisdictions have been identified and discussed. Processes such as the establishment of Biosecurity Queensland as a specialist group and the development of the National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions are occurring. However, the Torres Strait region is at current risk of marine pest inoculation, particularly for species such as Perna viridis, and management strategies to minimise this risk are lacking. The information presented here will assist management groups in their ability to work towards mitigating the risk of an IMS being translocated to and negatively impacting the unique and diverse ecology of the marine systems, and the industries, people and customs that rely on the coastal marine environment for food, recreation and commerce in the Torres Strait. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]