{"id":207292,"date":"2025-06-23T09:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T09:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207292\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T09:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T09:13:14","slug":"water-company-highlights-threat-of-invasive-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207292\/","title":{"rendered":"Water company highlights threat of invasive species"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The water company marked Invasive Species Week 2025 with a programme of events across the region, aimed at raising awareness of invasive non-native species (INNS) and their impact on rivers, reservoirs and natural habitats.\n<\/p>\n

\n INNS are species introduced outside their natural range, either intentionally or by accident, and can cause significant harm to native wildlife, ecosystems and the economy.\n<\/p>\n

\n Kate Hills, biosecurity and invasive non-native species manager at South West Water, said: “Invasive Species Week is a powerful reminder of the difference we can make when we work together.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ:<\/strong> RNLI issues water safety advice ahead of hot weekend<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n “Across the south west, we\u2019ve seen brilliant examples of collaboration from scientific workshops to fun, hands-on events that help people understand why tackling invasive species matters and the reception we\u2019ve had when we\u2019re out and about has been absolutely fantastic.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Every action, big or small, contributes to protecting our ecosystems and the biodiversity that makes this region so special.”\n<\/p>\n

\n INNS are estimated to cost the UK more than \u00a34 billion each year and represent an ongoing challenge for water companies.\n<\/p>\n

\n South West Water partnered with South West Lakes Trust and community groups to promote public action to prevent the spread of invasive species.\n<\/p>\n

\n A key event during the week was the annual South West Invasive Species Forum (SWISF), held at Roadford Lake Conference Centre in Devon and attended by nearly 100 people.\n<\/p>\n

\n The forum featured a workshop focused on American mink eradication and the reintroduction of water voles in the South West.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ:<\/strong> ‘Massive fish’ seen off Dorset coast identified as sunfish<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n \"AnAn American Signal Crayfish caught at Burrator. (Image: South West Water) Attendees also heard presentations on managing INNS in island environments, the impact of invasive marine species and the growing threat posed by the yellow-legged Asian hornet.\n<\/p>\n

\n South West Water staff engaged with the public throughout the week.\n<\/p>\n

\n In Cornwall, Ashley Bunning, the company\u2019s invasive fish and aquatic biosecurity officer, joined the Siblyback Fly Fishers Association for a themed fly-tying evening, using American signal crayfish as inspiration and sparking discussions about invasive freshwater species.\n<\/p>\n

\n In the east, Marcus Brown from South West Water and Gemma Morgan from Bournemouth Water hosted an awareness stall at Blashford Lakes.\n<\/p>\n

\n Gemma dressed as a crayfish to draw attention to the risks posed by invasive crayfish and biosecurity.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ:<\/strong> Which Dorset beaches have lifeguards as heatwave hits county?<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Nicola Morris, head of environment at South West Lakes Trust, said: “Not only is Invasive Species Week a great way to highlight the impacts invasive species cause and how we can all prevent their spread, but it is also a fantastic way to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our amazing volunteers.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Our volunteer Site Guardians work closely with our team to monitor the lakes, reporting any unexpected species and they help us to manage our sites too.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We are hugely grateful to them for all they do.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The water company marked Invasive Species Week 2025 with a programme of events across the region, aimed at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-207292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114731915839745544","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}