Capacity, capability and cross-border challenges associated with marine eradication programmes in Europe: The attempted eradication of an invasive non-native ascidian, Didemnum vexillum in Wales, United Kingdom

Katie Sambrook, Rohan H.F. Holt, Rowland Sharp, Kate Griffith, Ronan C. Roche, Rebekah G. Newstead, Gabrielle Wyn and Stuart R. Jenkins

Marine Policy, 2014, vol. 48, issue C, 51-58

Abstract: Increasing recognition of the threat which invasive non-native species present to ecological and economic assets has led to a recent surge in international, regional and national policies. Within the European Union, a draft EU Regulation on the prevention and management of invasive alien species has been developed. The draft Regulation, published in 2013, recommends the creation of a list of invasive alien species of Union concern, wherein any Member State identifying newly establishing populations of these species must implement rapid eradication measures. The first recording of the invasive non-native ascidian Didemnum vexillum in Britain in 2008 in Wales, and subsequent eradication efforts, presents a timely opportunity to evaluate the United Kingdom׳s existing capability and capacity to undertake a rapid eradication in the marine environment in light of the draft EU Regulation, as well as highlighting some of the cross-border challenges facing the EU. Although the UK is often cited within Europe as having made significant progress in the field of invasion management, the lessons learned from the eradication process in Wales highlight that the UK is inadequately prepared to undertake rapid eradication measures in the marine environment and that the lack of a coordinated approach between nations has significant potential to devalue localised eradication efforts. A number of measures are discussed to enhance future capability both in the UK and the wider European Union including enhanced alerting mechanisms, science-based monitoring programmes to enable early detection, increased commitment of resources and the need for cross-border collaboration.

Keywords: Didemnum vexillum; Eradication; Marine invasive species; Rapid response; Biosecurity; Control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X14000906
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:marpol:v:48:y:2014:i:c:p:51-58

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2014.03.018

Access Statistics for this article

Marine Policy is currently edited by Eddie Brown

More articles in Marine Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().