Introduced aquatic pests
Queensland has the highest diversity of freshwater fish in Australia. Unfortunately, this diversity is threatened by the presence of exotic fish and turtles (sometimes referred to as 'non-indigenous'), which have successfully established in some of our waterways. Some exotic fish pose such a threat to Queensland waters that they have been declared as 'noxious' in biosecurity legislation.
Information on the identification, reporting and control of pest fish species (including noxious fish) is available from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website.
A number of exotic aquatic plant species are weeds and can cause much damage to our aquatic environments as well as having a negative impact on native plants and animals. Examples include Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana) and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).
The Business Queensland website provides information on the identification and control of weeds in Queensland.
There are over 200 marine pests reported in Australian waters, most of which were introduced accidentally by shipping and aquaculture activities. Information on marine pests is available from the following websites: