Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2009L02536:reg:3:p6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2009L02536
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 6/8)
Character Range: 26336–30515

of exotic rodents on islands.

3.3.4             Actions to prevent invasion or reinvasion
There is a need to apply appropriate management to reduce the risks of invasion or reinvasion of islands by exotic rodents and to detect and deal with any failures of this management. The problem is that in the absence of data on these risks, costs and consequences it is unclear how to intervene in an optimal way.

The actions in this objective aim to develop appropriate procedures that can be applied and monitored in ways to clarify best-practice border management and responses to incursions on islands with different risk and consequence profiles.

4 – Actions to prevent invasion or re-invasion                                                                                                                                                                                  Priority and timeframe
4.1 Develop generic contingency plans for reaction to any new rodent invasions                                                                                                                                                  High priority, short term
4.2 Apply quarantine systems on rodent-free islands and where eradication is achieved                                                                                                                                           High priority, ongoing
4.3 Develop island-specific contingency capabilities for islands at high risk of invasion                                                                                                                                       High priority, short term
4.4 Reduce risk of rodents gaining access to key vessels at key ports                                                                                                                                                           Medium priority, medium term
4.5 Identify and reduce the frequency of rodent infestation on key Australian vessels, i.e. those regularly berthing on priority islands                                                                                        Medium priority, medium term
4.6 Survey rodent species and prevalence on foreign boats that present risks to Australian islands                                                                                                                              Medium priority, short term
4.7 Develop and test on-island prophylactic (e.g. permanent bait stations at high-risk sites) and reactive (e.g. surveillance and prompt control after any detection of rodents) strategies to detect and deal with incursions  High priority, short term and ongoing
4.8 Develop fast response capabilities to react to shipwrecks on priority islands                                                                                                                                               High priority, short term
4.9 Actively involve island residents and ship owners in the management of incursion risks                                                                                                                                      High priority, long term

Current state of actions
There are overseas and Australian models for these border management actions, but all are work in progress. For example, Lord Howe and Christmas islands have quarantine strategies that include rodents (which would become critical if the extant rodents were eradicated).

The managers of Barrow Island (free of exotic rodents) are developing a formal detection and search protocol for invasive species to reduce risks and improve responses as a consequence of the planned influx of shipping and aircraft to service the new oil and gas facilities being established on the island.

The use of genetic tools to identify individual animals, their parentage, discrete populations, as well as the more usual use as a mark-recapture method to assess population size allows managers to quantify some aspects of invasion risk to direct and optimise management options.

Performance indicators
    * Contingency quarantine and response plans for all islands are in place as part of feasibility studies