Help reduce the spread of invasive non-native species

South West Water, South West Lakes Trust and APEM Ltd are asking for help in reducing the spread of invasive non-native species (INNS) in the South West (SW).

With the support of The Green Blue, they have created a questionnaire for boaters and watercraft users of water bodies in the region in order to better understand recreational boating, paddling and other watercraft activities and how these activities may relate to INNS movement.

Aquatic INNS can be unintentionally spread from one water body to another through water-based recreational activities. This is concerning as many INNS threaten the local biodiversity and natural resources that so many of us value and use for recreational purposes. For example, Floating Pennywort can grow at a rate of 20 cm/day, creating dense mats of vegetation covering the surface of infested water bodies, limiting access to boaters and anglers.

Along with the questionnaire, they will also be hosting a boating and watercraft workshop where boaters, paddlers and other watercraft users will be invited to feed in their knowledge of the SW, as well as suggest actions to help tackle INNS issues.

The workshop will be held at the end of July (look out for dates and information once confirmed). Information gathered from the workshop and the questionnaire will help to develop a Boating Pathway Action Plan. This will identify potential pathways of spread of aquatic INNS, highlight priority sites and species of concern and identify priority actions for INNS biosecurity so that we can protect the natural resources in the SW that we all love!

The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Please make this valuable contribution!

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SWW_SWLT

Do you know your invasive species? Learn more about invasive plants and animals to look out for on the RYA environmental hub.