On the third Saturday of every month, Earthcare volunteers remove Northern Pacific Seastars (NPS) from the east coast of Port Phillip Bay (from Port Melbourne to Mornington). We have two teams at each event:
- The Water Team consists of volunteer snorkelers and people wading in the shallows to remove NPS by hand. Snorkelers should wear wetsuits, and bring their own snorkel gear.
- The Land Based Team assists with counting and data collection on the beach.
Removals are open to Earthcare St Kilda members (it’s so easy and cheap to sign up!). Special events throughout the year will also be open to non-members.
Because aggregations of NPS move around, with varying water quality, and unfavourable weather conditions, the location of the removal programme will change from month to month. We communicate event details via our closed FaceBook page. Non-member events will be advertised through our open Facebook page.
Why remove Northern Pacific Seastars?
Not all marine life in Port Phillip Bay is good for the environment.
The Northern Pacific Seastar (NPS; Asterias amurensis) is native to Korea, Russia and China. The NPS was first discovered in Port Phillip Bay in 1995, accidentally introduced from container ships ballast water. It is now widespread in Port Phillip Bay.
In Port Phillip Bay, the NPS predates on native marine fauna and has very few native predators. A female NPS can produce 20 million eggs per year.
The NPS has five arms with pointed tips and is mottled yellow and purple in colour.
It is not currently possible to rid the Bay of this exotic species, you can help minimise its impact on our native marine fauna. The less NPS in the Bay, the better chance our native animals have.
Since 2008, Earthcare St Kilda has been removing these Northern Pacific seastars from the seagrass beds in St Kilda Harbour. The removal programme has expanded over the years and we know operate from Port Melbourne to Mornington.
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Further Information
Please note that the removal of NPS requires a permit for noxious pest removal, issued by the Victorian Fisheries Authority. Earthcare operates NPS removal from the east coast of Port Phillip Bay under permit number NP1165.
For further information please email us.