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Keep your boat and gear free of any seaweed before moving locations

A graphic showing a drawing of an anchor with bits of seaweed on the anchor and its chain. Beside the anchor are the words. Out on the water? See it? Bag it. Bin it.

Exotic caulerpa can get snagged on anchors, chains and dive and fishing gear and be accidentally moved to new locations. There are simple actions you can take to avoid this.

  • When out at sea – before leaving a location, check your vessel’s anchor and anchor chain, and any equipment you’ve used in the water for any tangled seaweed. If you have an automatic retrieval system, still look out for any attached pieces of seaweed.
  • If you find any type of seaweed – remove it, bag or contain it securely so it can’t get back into the water, and take it ashore for disposal in a rubbish bin.
  • If you can’t securely contain it so it can’t get back into the water – put it back into the water it came from.
  • If you find you’ve picked up seaweed when you’re back at shore – remove it and put it in the rubbish.

Exotic caulerpa resources

Stop exotic caulerpa seaweed (poster) [PDF, 2.4 MB]

Stop exotic caulerpa seaweed (flyer) [PDF, 1.3 MB]

Follow the legal rules in some caulerpa locations

There are legal restrictions on some anchoring and fishing activities in parts of these 3 locations – Aotea Great Barrier Island, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island, and Te Rāwhiti Inlet in the Bay of Islands.

These rules are in place because anchoring and some types of fishing pose a high risk of spreading exotic caulerpa from areas of infestation.

Check the legal rules in force to stop the spread of exotic caulerpa

Tell us if you find any exotic caulerpa

Keep an eye out for exotic caulerpa species and report suspected sightings to us. Take a photo, if possible, and note the location. Then either:

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