04 March 2025
Author: Patrick Cahill, Cawthron Institute
A research programme to develop new strategies, tactics, and technologies for the eradication and management of marine pests has recently been awarded funding through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund. “Effective eradication: strategies, tactics, and technologies for successful marine invasion management” will be led by Cawthron Institute and includes a cross-disciplinary team of experts from the University of Auckland, Canterbury University, Victoria University, Otago University, Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust, The Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute (USA), and CSIRO (Australia). The programme will be undertaken across the next five years in close partnership with the Ministry of Primary Industries, regional councils, the Department of Conservation and the Environmental Protection Authority.
Invasive marine pests are a priority threat to Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal environments. They can damage and irreversibly alter the ecosystems we depend on for our identity, food, jobs, and recreation. These threats are escalating in a changing climate, and now more than ever, there is a need to front-foot effective defences to manage marine pests and limit their impacts. Developing effective strategies, tactics, technologies, and tools is the essential next step in managing an extensive legacy of pests and inevitable ongoing incursions.
The research programme will develop practical decision-making frameworks and strategies to deal with a range of marine pest management goals, including full eradication (nationwide extinction), extirpation (localised extinction), functional eradication (managing populations below unacceptable ecological impacts), and suppression (managing populations for cost:benefit). To develop these strategies and frameworks, researchers will use concepts from invasion ecology, bioeconomics, social science, and Mātauranga Māori, and also look at how previous responses to pest invasions have worked. Tools such as an Incursion Response Simulator and a Spatial Triage Tool will be created to guide decision-makers on how to best manage incursion responses and allocate resources for pest control. Researchers will also explore a suite of innovative marine pest control platform technologies to enable effective implementation of the strategies, including:
- Aquachemicals – selective marine pest control agents designed using medicinal chemistry
- Biogenic control – restoration of native keystone species to win territorial battles with pests
- ‘Blue gene’ drives – deleterious genes that self-spread throughout pest populations
- AI-enabled trapping – engineering and machine learning for pest detection and destruction
- Taputapu Moana – traditional practices applied by Māori to protect/enhance marine habitats
This research will have an immediate, real-world impact and address the growing need to take a more proactive approach to managing marine pests. Researchers will work closely with those involved in marine pest management to ensure that the new strategies and frameworks achieve the desired outcomes.
For more information, contact Patrick Cahill at
