Vessel Inspections Darwin

[MMNETSEA]

Here is the link that describes the procedures for mandatory inspections of vessels on arrival at Darwin from foreign waters : CLICK HERE

[iandodge]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA

Here is the link that describes the procedures for mandatory inspections of vessels on arrival at Darwin from foreign waters : CLICK HERE

Our expeience entering Darwin last year was that these procedures apply to boat wishing to enter the locks and berth at a freshwater marina. The requirements for entering Australia at Darwin and mooring at Fanny Bay, or elsewhere in saltwater, are less stringent.

For current Customs Reqirements:

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4260

For Current Quarantine

http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/avm/vessels/less-25m/yachts

[MMNETSEA]

Hi Ian ,

Thanks for the input !

Have the rules changed since 2007 - the Fisheries Departments have regs that stipulate conditions for yachts arriving from Indonesia :_

Marine Pests

Richard

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by iandodge

Our expeience entering Darwin last year was that these procedures apply to boat wishing to enter the locks and berth at a freshwater marina.

As noted in the Cruising Wiki for entry into Cullen Bay Marina.

[iandodge]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA

Hi Ian ,

Thanks for the input !

Have the rules changed since 2007 - the Fisheries Departments have regs that stipulate conditions for yachts arriving from Indonesia :_

Marine Pests

Richard

Hi Richard, I don't believe the rules have changed. The Fisheries regs are made by the Territorial Govenment, while the quarintine rules rules are by the national govenment. The regs refer to marinas. I haven't researched it, but I would guess, that the "marina's" referred to in the regs are all fresh water marina's, that is the are inside the locks where there is a danger that pests could enter the fresh water system. I know we were confuded by the difference in 2007, but were told when we arrived that the more stringent regs applied only to vessels that wished to enter the locks. Perhaps someone from SailIndonesia 2008 can tell us more.

[MMNETSEA]

Does this confirm that the Fisheries regs apply in Cullen Bay ?

[iandodge]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA

Does this confirm that the Fisheries regs apply in Cullen Bay ?

Yes, The Fisheries Regs apply in Cullen Bay. The marina is inside the lock. I was just pointing out that, if you plan to anchor in Fanny Bay, or anywhere outside the locks, for that matter, you don't have to worry about the Fisheries Regs.

[MMNETSEA]

Thanks Ian

I have written to Fisheries - as the Green Mussel pest is a salt water criminal - why would they worry about 'fresh water marinas" ????

Richard

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA

Thanks Ian

I have written to Fisheries - as the Green Mussel pest is a salt water criminal - why would they worry about 'fresh water marinas" ????

Richard

Hi Ian ,

Here is the copy of the reply from Australian Fisheries to my email regarding the regulations pertaining to boats arriving Australia from International waters :-

REPLY

"Hi Richard,

Any vessel that has arrived from international waters, or has been in

international waters (Australian or international vessel) will require treatment

and inspection. If the vessel has been antifouled in Australia and has not

been outside of Australian waters only a treatment is necessary. If the boat has

been on a hard stand, whilst getting anti fouled, for longer than 6 weeks then

no treatment will be needed either.

Vessels visiting the Port of Cairns may need inspecting depending on their

length of stay.

I hope thats clear, if not feel free to write again with more questions or

contact us on one of the numbers below.

Regards

Alex Beatty

Aquatic Pest Management

Fisheries

Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines

T: 08 8999 2126

M: 0413 381 094

F: 08 8999 2065 "



My Questions re the pests :-

"22/07/2008 07:59 PM

Asian Green Mussel

Please confirm that in Australia's NT waters you are ONLY concerned about boats

that come from Indonesian waters and who wish to enter MARINAS in Darwin. You

have no interest in boats that are cruising NT's coastlines after having visited

Indonesia

Regards

Richard

MMNETSEA

Moderator

Cruiser Log.com"

[Sokari]

Just to set the record straight - the marinas in Darwin are not "fresh water" marinas. They need locks due to the huge tides of around 8 metres. They are salt water marinas and to the best of our knowledge are not connected to inland river systems. The black striped mussel has been a problem for many years with concerns after they were initially discovered. They can block cooling systems and weigh down navigation buoys. If travelling to Darwin, you need to be aware of these tides and if anchoring in Fannie Bay you will see how far out the monohulls have to anchor. We, along with many other boats that have a lengthy stay, move in and out with the Springs and Neaps. As the tides grow, we all move in closer to shore and as the tides lessen, we move back out again. Enjoy the place - it's great and the officials are friendly and helpful.

Regards Rosemary

[canuckiwis]

Funny I should come across this thread- I am currently (14/04/10)in Darwin preparing for a survey for marine pests. Next week we hit Cullen Bay and the other locked marinas looking for, among other things (there is a target list of 28 marine pest species) black striped mussel, the bag mussel and green mussel. Spoke with the lockmaster for CBM today- very helpful and knowledgeable about marine pests. These locked marinas do get a bit of a freshwater layer building up during the wet, but that dissipates fairly rapidly when the dry season comes on- as it appears to have done so--TODAY! We arrived to downpours and 97% humidity yesterday to a wind shift and sun today! .. but I digress...

Happy to chat with anyone about marine pests- its kinda what I do for a living (believe it or not someone actually pays me to do that)!

Cheers Dan

[Recidivist]

Sokari is correct - the marinas are captive salt water, not fresh. Because the water is captive, marine pests could quickly get out of hand, that's why the inspections and treatment of through hulls etc. The same tides that make the marinas a necessity work in our favour for marine pests outside the marinas - the huge water flow disperses any "spat" so they don't get a chance to colonise.

Note a couple of things though - as the dry season sets in, many more cruising boats will arrive and not all (in fact, not many) will be able to be accommodated in the marinas. Those who want to enter a marina will need to have their engine systems, heads etc treated to kill any potential mussell infestation. There is very limited space to have this done alongside the jetty at Cullen Bay (outside the lock), so many boats will have to have it done while on anchor. This is difficult for the divers (especially if the tide is flowing strongly) so expect delays. The divers also check for "keel smiles" and such (narrow cracks are a good spot for juvenile mussels to "hide"), and are very considerate - if they find anything like that, they take photos with an underwater digital camera and will email them to you so you know what's happening underneath your boat.

The last time I returned to Darwin from Indonesia, we were given a pretty tough chewing out for failing to provide the compulsory 96 hours notice of arrival. As we are locals we were able to "sweet talk" ourselves out of trouble, but Customs can get narky so be aware of the notice requirements. I rang my wife from Ambon and asked her to ring Customs for us, but when she spoke to someone in Canberra she was told to make the report locally. However, the local officers insisted that the report MUST be made to Canberra and ONLY on the dedicated phone number. I would hope this has become more sensible (that was 2 years ago) but don't rely on it.

Welcome to Darwin.

Rick

[MMNETSEA]

Sometimes the controls really pay off CLICK CRABS

[JeanneP]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA' date='15 April 2010 - 04:34 AM

Sometimes the controls really pay off CLICK CRABS

Yes, but these controls, as with the controls that brought back the striped bass, were on the commercial fishers who had depleted the stocks in the first place, not on ships or private yachts which have never been implicated in their decline. Actually, with striped bass, the controls were on all fishermen, including the recreational fishermen.

When the greatest blue crab delicacies are she-crab soup and soft crab, it's no wonder that blue crabs had come close to being loved into extinction. Soft crabs are only soft crabs immediately (within 1 or 2 hours) after they molt. They are exclusively female, and they're caught because of the mating peculiarities of the crab. The only time the crabs can mate is immediately after the she-crab has shed her outgrown carapace (shell). The ready-to-molt female is found by a male crab who then carries her around with him until she molts. They mate, she expels her eggs, and more baby crabs are born. However, soft-crab are only caught when the crabber brings up a pot of crabs and finds a male holding onto a female. They then know that this is a crab that will soon molt. They separate the male and females, the females are sold to a dealer who keeps the females in tanks until they molt, he then immediately kills them and sells them. Having toured these molting sheds, I'm sure that they were a good part of the "infrastructure" referred to by the fellow in the last two paragraphs of the above article.

Nobody catches soft crabs otherwise. When a crab molts (s)he will bury into the mud until a new shell has started to form. During that time they don't feed so they aren't caught, and a crab with a new, day-old shell is no longer a soft crab. It's a fascinating process, but deadly to the future of blue crabs.

It wasn't introduced pests that were the cause of the decline of the Chesapeake blue crab, though. The financial difficulties that the restrictions on crabbers produced, however, targeted the cause of the decline.

I wish the same controls could be placed on the capture of blue fin tuna, and a host of other delicacies. Almost 20 years after controls were first imposed, the Northwest Atlantic Cod has still not returned in commercial numbers to Newfoundland's Grand Banks.

None of this is to argue against controls against bio-fouling, but I believe Australia's focus on private yachts is an expensive imposition (AUD $250 an hour? That's about twice the markup that is placed on retail goods for sale!) when it is the commercial ships speeding across temperature and time zones that are the major culprits, and about which nothing is yet done. Private yachts generally do not carry, nor expel, ballast water which have been the identified source of some of the worst pest introductions, including zebra mussels, comb jellies, the european green crab, and sea stars. When one looks at the size of the commercial ships, and their numbers entering the harbors of the world, to expend significant resources to control recreational vessels' questionable source of biofouling but not the commercial ships, seems to me to be little more than a stage show that accomplishes little, if anything at all.

[canuckiwis]

Originally Posted by JeanneP' date='16 April 2010 - 12:56 AM

(snip)

None of this is to argue against controls against bio-fouling, but I believe Australia's focus on private yachts is an expensive imposition (AUD $250 an hour? That's about twice the markup that is placed on retail goods for sale!) when it is the commercial ships speeding across temperature and time zones that are the major culprits, and about which nothing is yet done. Private yachts generally do not carry, nor expel, ballast water which have been the identified source of some of the worst pest introductions, including zebra mussels, comb jellies, the european green crab, and sea stars. When one looks at the size of the commercial ships, and their numbers entering the harbors of the world, to expend significant resources to control recreational vessels' questionable source of biofouling but not the commercial ships, seems to me to be little more than a stage show that accomplishes little, if anything at all.

I would agree fully that AUD$250 an hour is a bit pricey! As I am going to be sailing to Aus from NZ in a few months I expect that I will be a bit grumpy at the cost when we get into Brisbane.

I also agree that commercial vessels pose an obvious risk- they dont get off scott-free though. Ballast water regs being as they are now there are costs they carry. I know of a big chemical carrier that was coming into the Port of Vancouver a few years ago that had not exchanged its ballast water at sea and was arriving from a designated risk area. It was to be turned away from port but the weather was bad (solas comes before pests) so the port let it in but not before they had their ballast water sterilised by independent experts (the company I work for!) at a cost to the vessel operator of about $30k.

No question though that we could do more and international negotiations are underway to do just that. I do re-iterate though that recreational yachts are a major risk, however (not my boat-home, of course!!). A project in NZ recently looked at trying to assess the risk of rec yachts by assessing from the surface. Basically the team made an estimate of fouling from the surface then followed that up by diving on the yacht and making a quantitative assessment (including identifications of critters scraped off) of the fouling actually on the wetted area. There was (no surprise) a pretty strong relationship between those yachts that were obviously fouled from the surface with what was below. But (and this is a big but), several fairly nasty hitchhikers were present on yachts that looked really good from the surface <<sigh>>.... so basically there was no bomb-proof message to take away from the study. Similar work in oz has revealed much the same thing.

The black striped mussel (BSM) problem in Darwin in 99 emphasised that small boats do play a big role in transmitting marine pests. That cleanup cost $3million and it was due to small boats bringing in BSM. I was chatting with a dive inspector for AFMA (aussie fisheries management agency) in Darwin yesterday about how they found BSM, asian bag mussels and green mussels on a single boat trying to get to Australia just last week. Their response is to quarantine the boat well offshore, wrap the wetted surface in a bag and fill it with a chlorine solution for a couple of days!! When everything is dead they let it out. That is at no cost to the vessel owner.. unless of course they are illegally fishing or people smuggling, in which case they just bring the now sterilized boat to shore and torch it!!

Sorry I am nattering on again a bit- it's a fascinating topic (at least to us science geeks!)

Cheers

Dan