Prevent pests from spreading

Aukatia te horapa a te kīrehe orotā

Help us keep your favourite spots pest-free for future generations by following these guidelines.

Check and clean your gear

Thoroughly check and clean your vehicle, gear and any other items you transport:

after visiting an area where there are known pests
before visiting an offshore island which are often free of pests. See Visiting the Hauraki Gulf islands.

Thorough checking and cleaning minimises the spread of:

weeds on land and in water
pests like argentine ants
soil-borne diseases like kauri dieback disease.

Do not release pests

Do not release any pest animals or unwanted pets into the wild. This includes mice, red-eared slider turtles, goldfish or rainbow lorikeets.

Check the Regional Pest Management Strategy to see the pest plants and pest animals we manage.

Marine pests

Marine species spread by hull fouling and getting into ballast water.

Clean your hull out of the water before you leave, including the propeller and anchor.
Clean all recreational gear including fishing and diving gear.
Check the Marine Pests website for marine biosecurity rules in other regions before leaving Auckland.

Guidelines for hull cleaning

Our tip

Make sure your hull is 'Clean below, Good to go!'

Where and when you clean your hull depends on these risk factors:

where you have visited with your vessel recently
how much fouling is on your hull
the types of marine species that are growing on your hull

A slime layer on a vessel hull, regardless of origin may be cleaned in-water.

If your vessel has more than a slime layer, you need to follow specific guidelines.

Hull cleaning guidelines

This is a summary of the rules. If you're not sure, contact us on 09 301 0101 to avoid fines or other penalties.

Biofouling and invasive marine pest species

PDF download 530.2 KB

Vessels from local (Auckland) waters

You can clean your hull in-water, outside our exclusion zones as long as you:

use a gentle, non-abrasive technique to avoid hull damage when cleaning
use the consistent cleaning method recommended by the coating manufacturers
collect as much biofouling waste as possible to avoid contamination.

If you see any unusual or suspected harmful organism, you must stop cleaning immediately and contact the Ministry of Primary Industries on 0800 80 99 66.

Vessels from other NZ regions or international waters

Clean your hull out of the water to avoid spreading invasive marine pests.

See our list of hardstand and haul-out facilities to do this safely.

You should know

We should all do our bit to prevent the spread of marine pests. The best way to do this is to regularly clean the hull of your vessel using appropriate methods and in a place where you will minimise the risk of marine pests spreading.

You can be fined up to $750 if you do not maintain the hull of your vessel or you clean your vessel in a way or in a place that could spread invasive marine pests.