It’s bad enough that we’re forced to endure the obligatory cavity search when boarding the plane – thereby removing all the explosives, brass knuckles, shanks, and belt fed weapons common to fishermen, but our arrival may soon be far worse.
I stumbled across a New Zealand document outlining their strategy in combating the invasive threat – which includes foreign plants, insects and all the stuff we know about …
The volume of invasives carried unknowingly is enormous – but of particular interest is the items now being routinely confiscated from arriving tourists. Naturally there are the obvious targets like fruit and foodstuffs, but tents are in the high risk group and confiscated immediately.
Shoes have to be declared, and inspected – and may be cleaned on the premises by airport staff, or confiscated, some 80000 pairs were removed from passengers last year.
In 2006-2007, 116,700 seizures were made from 2% (103,000) of arriving air passengers and crew. Contaminated used equipment (e.g. footwear and tents) was the most commonly seized risk good (34%), followed by fruit fly host material (23%) and meat products (10%).
Pathogenic fungus spores, plant seeds, and all manner of biologics are found in debris trapped in the soles of standard footwear.
A study on footwear in Honolulu International Airport recovered 65 species of fungi from 17 shoes (Baker 1966). Pockets of clothing also have been shown to carry potential risk material including dried and fresh foliage, seeds and feathers (Chirnside et al. 2006). Used tents may not only harbour plant and animal debris but also live insects (Gadgil and Flint 1983).
Because tents are potentially going to be used in national parks or other indigenous forest areas, tents were categorised as ‘a major risk’, and carefully screened by
MAFBNZ border staff.
Researchers examined 157 pairs of soiled footwear carried in luggage and found that while the amount of soil and leaf litter adhering to the sole was relatively small, with a median
(range) weight of 1.0 g (0.01-55), this contamination supported a range of bacteria, fungi, seeds and nematodes (McNeill et al., unpublished data). Seeds were present on over 50% of footwear examined, and 73% of all seeds recovered were found to be viable. Nematodes, which are microscopic worms that include a large number of plant parasitic species, were present in 63% of the samples collected.
… and yes, anglers were caught transporting the nasty too.
… used fishing waders and socks have been implicated in the arrival of the invasive freshwater algae didymo (Didymosphenia geminate) from North America to New Zealand.
Assuming a goodly percentage of vacationers wore comfortable footwear due to the walking and gawking necessary to take in the sights, we can assume a significant percentage were rubber soled (soon to be banned on international flights) so we can expect to be replacing all those wading boots again …
Just kidding.
It neatly demonstrates how thin your margin for error is … and if you thought you wouldn’t have to quarantine your rubber soled wading boots, wouldn’t have to freeze them, or wouldn’t have to scrub them with disinfectants and dry them completely … you’re dead wrong.
… and while you’re at it dry those waders and socks too.
Didymo, New Zealand, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Biosecurity, nematodes, confiscation of tents, invasive species, anglers
I own a wonderful pair of felt soled wading boots that I have worn once in nearly 2 years. Granted, my rubber soled boot waders see action maybe eight times a year. The question has always been: What is the life expectancy of this man eating, terraforming, pathogenic fungus…out of water? Seeds, we all understand but are fungus spores armored to the same extent? Marketing majors somehow missed this lecture. What does a reasonable person do to protect the “Lil Stinking” from the vulgar flows of Hat creek and the Fall river? Are we awaiting the invention of the single use felt sole? Consider it done. Where does the discussion of solutions start?
My understanding is that some of the larger clothing companies are waiting for AFTMA or TU to get the ball rolling, but should they dawdle – they are planning on marketing a disposable sole that peels out of a carton much like a waxed toilet seat cover.
That way you can use it and toss in hygenic receptacles left at every roadside access.
I just hope it’s not too scratchy, as there are better uses for Tyvek in the woods.
Who’s going to police the birds that might fly from one source of water to another?
Science is very much aware of this pollination vector, having completed a number of studies that prove a diatom can survive complete passage through a duck’s gut. They also have found algae and invasives on feathers and the feet of migrating waterfowl.
The angling contingent dismisses most of the non-felt issues, despite compelling evidence to the contrary.
In short, you can’t. But we’re the problem, so it doesn’t matter. (according to TU)
Hey there,
I found it really interesting that after returning from Japan to NZ recently customs didn’t ask me if I’d been in Miyazaki where they have just had a huge foot and mouth out-break. Customs weren’t interested in my tying feathers either.
Didymo was our last nasty import I wonder what is next!
On the shoe topic, most NZers can now afford Nikes and can buy a great range from online auction, it’s not bio-security it’s creative business kiwi style.
PS The wading boots are cheap too, keep bringing them.. Bio-security…bio-stupdity! Haha.
Cheers Pete
This discussion is more than a little interesting because Clorox seems a likely dip and the disposable sole; well, it’s design is challenged by thick, sucking mud but that is’nt a permanent obstical. Wading boots and seeds are a problem, Most everything we wear or drive and seeds are a problem. But it seems that awarness and disposability walk a fair distance towards limiting the human damage.
Ed; the birds aren’t our problem. They will be vacume packed in Canada and shipped South by UPS. We’re a civilized people, UPS needs the business and that large sucking sound will be bird packing jobs going to Canada.
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