Seaweek is the Marine Education Society of Australasia's major annual campaign to increase understanding and appreciation of the sea and its living organisms.
The theme for Seaweek in 2010 is "Oceans of Life; Oceans to explore, ours to restore".
This year's Seaweek theme was chosen in recognition that 2010 is International Year of Biodiversity and aims to explore Australia's oceans and the rich biodiversity, which they support.
A major threat to our marine biodiversity is the translocation or introduction of non-native species to a habitat. Not all species will survive in their new habitats but introduced species have the potential to establish breeding populations, which will compete for food and shelter with our native species. This competition can devastate the native species, upsetting the natural balance of the ecosystem. This imbalance can have implications for the marine environment in the area and any industry that relies on these stocks.
Non-native species can be introduced into the marine environment through a number of different ways, but 18 ports around Australia have been identified as being responsible for more than 80 per cent of the potential risk of introduced marine pests. WA has three of those ports - Dampier, Port Hedland and Fremantle.
Non-native species may be attached to the hulls of vessels or be contained in the ballast water of large ships; ships pick up water which may contain marine organisms in one port and release it into another port, often great distances apart.
Monitoring plans for marine pests have been developed for Fremantle and Dampier ports and part of the recent WA Government's Natural Resource Management funding will assist with developing a plan for Port Headland.
Department of Fisheries research scientists have also recently commenced a monitoring program in the Christmas Island port (considered to be a moderate risk) to regularly check for any marine pests.
