Rock snot campaign in New Zealand an heroic struggle

Harvey Clarke has an excellent article on the stringent steps being taken to try and halt the spread of Didymo (Rock Snot) in New Zealand.

There is some good news in this story - a test on a chemical being undertaken on a small river is showing positive signs of killing Didymo, and with no apparent effects on other flora and fauna. The results will be out in a month. New Zealand is leading the world in research into this pest that is a world-wide problem.

There may be a bad news to go with the good though, there is a theory that Didymo may be spread by birds, especially wading birds. The consequences of this, should the theory be true, are simply not worth thinking about.

If you are an angler going fishing in the South Island please adhere rigidly to all the measures in place to restrict this problem.