Japan Club has reported that New Zealand Authorities have promulgated new a new biofouling standard named “Craft Risk Management Standard” (CRMS), which will come into force on May 15th 2018. The Club noted that studies undertaken in New Zealand had found that hull biofouling was the main cause of the introduction to New Zealand of unwanted organisms in the form of invasive aquatic species. Furthermore, marine pests and diseases brought in through hull biofouling can cause significant harm to New Zealand’s marine biodiversity and its fishing and agriculture industries, the authorities said.
Japan Club noted a report that two vessels were ordered to clean their hulls because their biofouling was excessive over the past 12 months, even though CRMS had not yet come into force. The standards can be found at www.mpi.govt.nz/document-vault/11668. https://www.piclub.or.jp/?action=common_download_main&upload_id=10682