Offshore investment

The cane toad is advancing through the Northern Territory, including Kakadu National Park and Darwin. But up in the Top End, Tiwi Islanders are putting a halt to this assault.

Funding

Stowaways will not make the 80 kilometre boat trip thanks to more than $96,000 from the Australian Government to expand facilities at the Tiwi Barge Service.

Activities

A post-washdown holding area for barge freight has been constructed, surrounded by a cane toad exclusion fence. This completes the quarantine infrastructure at Tiwi Barge premises by adding to the washdown facilities constructed with funding assistance from the Aboriginal Benefits Account and the Indigenous Land Council.

Project officer Kate Hadden said much of the traffic that posed a quarantine risk, including freight such as heavy machinery, left the mainland via Tiwi Barge Services. As a result, the Tiwi Land Council had given priority to quarantine measures to prevent the spread of soil, plant material and animals such as ants, snails and cane toads.

"The holding area will include traps for any cane toads that escape the wash-down procedure, or that are in freight that cannot pass through the wash-down bay," Kate said. "The fence will also ensure that while cargo is waiting to be loaded, it will not be re-infested with cane toads."

The Tiwi Land Council is also developing a monitoring and rapid response program just in case. This means identifying the most likely infestation sites, training staff and community in using traps, and in procedures for reporting, identifying and disposing of the toads.

Sites most at risk of infestation include areas near barge landings, especially those with a coastal freshwater fringe. Traps will be used at these points in the communities of Milikapiti, Pirlangimpi, Nguiu and Ranku and also at port sites handling significant freight.

Achievements

The quarantine holding area is a critical part of the barrier between the mainland and the Tiwi Islands. While cane toad numbers are low, individual animals can be seen easily and disposed of during normal barge operations. Monitoring traps have been installed around the premises.

An extensive training and public awareness campaign has just been completed with brochures on the mainland and the Islands, articles in Tiwi Times and fishing newsletters, and every school and community visited for talks and training.

More information

• Kate Hadden, Project officer: (08) 8999 4423 or kate.hadden@nt.gov.au

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

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Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts