The latest issue of the Scottish Biodiversity News, in looking at one of the preventable ways alien species – plants and animals – make their way into rivers and lochs, uses the results of an earlier academic study to make the point.
The study – surveying over 1500 water activity enthusiasts across the UK – found that 79% of canoeists and kayakers and 64% of anglers use their kit in more than one water catchment within a fortnight.
Of these percentages of multiple water users, only 10% of canoeists and 22% of anglers cleaned their kit before moving to new waters.
Once invasive species get into rivers and lochs they cause havoc in existing habitats and are incredibly hard to get rid of – so stopping them getting there in the first place is the simplest and most effective environmental protection.
In a experiment, the researchers wrapped four species of non-native plants and three species of non-native animals in angling nets.
They then compared the effectiveness of submerging the animals/plants in hot water to drying the nets out, or leaving them damp.
The value of this test is that hot water is non-toxic, cheap, available and safe for anyone to use.
