Algae Outbreak on World Champs Course
Rob Howard / 13.10.2005
An algae outbreak in rivers on New Zealand’s West Coast is causing concern for the organizers of the AR World Championship, to be held from 14-19 November 2005.Race director Geoff Hunt says they are most concerned about the presence of the Didymo algae, commonly know as ‘Rock Snot’. "It stands to reason that the event will be using rivers. Obviously, we want to be responsible and ensure our competitors take all necessary precautions as all river-users in New Zealand have been asked to. We have been in discussions with Biosecurity New Zealand and will be continuing to work with them to achieve that."
Hunt says teams will be required to wash their kayaks and kayaking equipment when they register before the race and there will be drums and cleaning gear made available. Sanitizing stations will be set up in line with Biosecurity guidelines.
The majority of the 60 teams entered in the race are from overseas, and Hunt says they also need to ensure they are not bringing Didymo with them from other parts of the world. It’s suspected the alga was introduced in this way by fishermen, and the outbreak, which affects several rivers, including the Buller, is the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
"Support crews will also have to clean all the equipment after each river section and we will arrange to have cleaning equipment at the transition areas because we have to do all we can to contain this problem."
"The teams will be advised about the presence of Didymo as they come into New Zealand. With the plans we have in place we will be able to manage any risk before the event and throughout it.â€
"Adventure racers as a group are passionate about the environment and the clean, pure rivers which New Zealand is renowned for. Everyone views this algae problem with real concern," Hunt added.
