New Zealand Boaters Battle Fanworms

Marine specialists in Auckland, New Zealand are fighting the spread of the rapidly-multiplying Mediterranean fanworm with a new weapon — a prototype chlorine decontamination bath used to soak the hulls of boats to cut down the spread of the hitchhiking aquatic pest. 

"They're similar to earth worms. If you chop them into three pieces, they've found that they actually end up re-growing both a head end and a tail end, so they're pretty good at restoring themselves," said Irene Middleton, aquatic biosecurity officer for the Northland Regional Council, in an April 19 ONE News broadcast outlining the new de-contamination efforts. 

The Mediterranean fanworm, Sabella spallanzanii, is a marine animal typically found in estuaries or sheltered sites at depths of one to 30 meters, according to the biosecurity website of the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries.

The fanworm consists of a tube always anchored to a hard surface, topped with a single spiral fan called a radiole. The fan is white, banded with brown and orange, with an orange central stem. The tube is tough and flexible,often muddy in appearance and may have other organisms growing on the surface.

The Mediterranean fanworm can grow to a length of 40 centimeters. The fanworms can form dense groups that compete with native species for food and space.