and angling, has the potential to move this species across borders. Researchers believe boats used by divers may have spread the shrimp between various lakes in Switzerland. It is these pathways that we have focused on. The advice we have developed to date, with the cooperation of boating and angling interest groups, is available on www. nonnativespecies.org. uk. These documents are likely to be revised in the future, as our knowledge on effective measures improves. Other biosecurity advice is available for species such as zebra mussel (another Ponto-Caspian invader) and the carpet sea-squirt, Didemnum vexillum.


There is a real risk that the advice to the public becomes confused by the different species of concern. It is important to keep the public advice generic, so that it is relevant to a wide range of invasive non-native animals, plants and also diseases. We need to achieve widespread behavioural change amongst a large number of people engaged within these pursuits. So far, the response has been very encouraging. Organisations such as the Angling Trust and the Royal Yachting Association have been highly proactive in supporting and disseminating this advice amongst its members. Landowners have cooperated fully in efforts to contain and manage Dikerogammarus shrimp. But if we are really serious about reducing the risk of spreading these species we all need to recognise our responsibilities, whether it’s participating in a watersport or disposing of garden waste.


For many people, one of the remarkable experiences of visiting nations such as Australia or New Zealand is their culture of biosecurity. They understand the profound impact that diseases and invasive non-native species can have on their economy and habitats. On 15th December 2010 the Government published a report on the economic cost of invasive non-native species on the British economy; a conservative estimate of £1.7 billion per annum. When will we wake up to accepting a culture of biosecurity?


We are far from achieving the level of behavioural change necessary. Volunteers working for the New Forest Non- Native Plant Project have recorded a strong correlation between sites with the invasive non-native Australian


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swamp stonecrop, Crassula helmsii, and proximity to car parks and easy public access. Incredibly, some of the invasive species they have cleared from sensitive New Forest wetlands have been planted in their pots! The next time you need to stop in a rural lay-by, or car park, see how many garden plants you can identify, spreading from fly- tipped garden waste into the wild.


There is a cost to this behaviour. All of us who cherish a diverse and species- rich landscape suffer the degradation


that monocultures of invasive plants create. There are a range of economic impacts associated with many invasive species. There can also be human health implications, either from the toxic sap of giant hogweed, or the increased risk of drowning created by lawns of invasive plants across ponds and lakes. Sadly, the cost is rarely suffered by the perpetrators of the spread. It is usually the landowner who burdens the majority of the cost.


So, what has the ‘killer shrimp’ taught us? So far, it has taught us that we continue to be vulnerable to new invasions of non-native species. More positively, it has taught us that many organisations, interest groups and individuals are keen to do something about it and are prepared to make the changes necessary to prevent further spread. This is a cultural change from which we all could benefit.


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