Ever wondered what the marine pests on Victoria look like ? Because so much damage can be done by people destroying the wrong creatures, thinking they are doing the right thing, we have put together a Rogues Gallery of the pests you are likely to come across when you are out in the water.

Click on the name of the pest, and the CSIRO fact sheet on the critter will be downloaded from the CRIMP site to give you the latest information.

Remember that all of these animals and plants are not pests where they come from and in some cases are rather beautiful. Despite being pests to us, they still deserve to be treated as any creature would be: with respect. We at Radio Marinara suggest that you do not try to collect these creatures unless you are an expert.

Pacific Sea star - is 150 million in the bay enough ?

Northern Pacific Seastar - Asterias amurensis voracius predator on native animals and shellfish - with consequences further down the food chain.

European shore crab - Carcinus maenas a voracious preditor on native animals and shellfish

Giant Fanworm - Sabella spallanzanii foul the commercial shellfish beds and lines and outcompete the native species

Asian Mussel - Musculista senhousia Dominates the bottom - excluding the native communities

Japanese Seaweed - Undaria pinnatifia highly invasive, outgrowing and excluding the native species

Toxic dinoflagellates - infect shellfish and make them highly toxic

Broccoli Weed - Codium fragile spp. tomentosoides

European Clam - Corbula gibba Very fast grower that destroys the benthos especially due to its high population density

For more details on Marine pests - head to the Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP).