Dreaming of a white spot-free Christmas

For many of us the Christmas break means time with family and friends sharing a bowl of delicious local prawns.

But if you use prawns intended for human consumption as bait you risk spreading serious disease in our waterways.

One example is white spot, which was identified in south-east Queensland in December 2016. White spot is a highly contagious viral infection that causes high mortality rates in farmed prawns and infects lobsters, crabs and yabbies.

It poses no risk to human health but is spread through the movement of infected animals or contaminated water.

We have been keeping an eye out and running tests as part of our active surveillance, and so far, there is no evidence of white spot in NSW prawn stocks.

We need your help to keep it this way.

So if you’re planning on wetting a line this Christmas your choice of bait and simple biosecurity can help ensure the future of our fisheries.

Help keep NSW white spot-free by:

• Never using prawns intended for human consumption as bait and always sourcing your bait from a from a local tackle shop or a trusted local supplier.
• Not bringing bait from south east Queensland to NSW. If you catch your own bait, use it only in the same waterway.
• Disposing of your prawn waste (heads or shells) in the general waste bin and never in our waterways
• Never using bait showing signs of white spot disease.
• Thoroughly cleaning your boat, boat trailer and fishing equipment after each use and allowing them to dry in direct sunlight.
• Reporting anything suspicious or seek advice from NSW DPI.

For more information visit White spot disease.