M/INV-1

Impact/Outcome:

This section describes how this project has advanced scientific knowledge and/or made a difference for coastal residents, communities, and environments. Maryland Sea Grant has reported these details to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of our funding sponsors.

Summary: Maryland Sea Grant and its partners completed a research-based public-education campaign to obtain help from bait shop owners in five Mid-Atlantic states to reduce the introduction of aquatic invasive species via the marine bloodworm live bait trade. Distributors in Maine pack this live bait in algal material and ship it widely. The campaign gave bait shop owners educational materials to share with customers. A survey of the owners indicated that they found the materials persuasive.

Relevance: The introduction of non-native species to ecosystems can cause both economic and ecological harm. The most effective way to prevent introduction is to control the pathways (vectors) through which unwanted aquatic species are introduced into a new environment where they can become a nuisance. Until this project, there had been no coordinated effort to control the live bait vector at a regional scale. 

Response: The project team was led by Maryland Sea Grant and involved Sea Grant extension specialists from the Mid-Atlantic and researchers from multiple institutions. The team developed a public education messaging campaign to change anglers' behavior regarding the live bait vector. The campaign focused on Ascophyllum nodosummarine, the brown algae wormweed used as packing material for Glycera dibranchiate bloodworms, which are widely used as bait. The educational campaign materials encouraged fishers to safely dispose unused live bait and its packing material in the trash rather than dumping it in waterways. Sea Grant Extension delivered educational materials bearing the phrase "Protect Our Fisheries - Trash Unused Worms and Packaging" to 13 bait shops across the Mid-Atlantic. In 2015 the research team conducted follow-up interviews with bait shop owners to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness. In a separate part of the project, researchers quantitatively characterized the wide range and amount of live macroinvertebrates contained in the bait shipment bags. Project scientists conducted lab studies that demonstrated that treating the contents of the bait shipment bags with water of varying salinities could effectively reduce the number of live organisms. 

Results: This pilot study has provided a wealth of information that could be used to implement a larger-scale intervention study on trade in live organisms, such as bloodworms, that can introduce invasive species to aquatic environments, Bait shop owners who were interviewed expressed enthusiasm for the campaign and agreed that it had value. Most were happy to help distribute the campaign materials, often noting that their businesses depend on a healthy environment. Most thought that anglers would be willing to properly dispose of the packing material if they were informed about the potential problem.