Log in
Bournemouth University (BU) research delivers the evidence base on which to develop regulations, policy and management programmes to protect European biodiversity from the adverse impacts of non-native fish. It reveals where introduced non-native species have damaging impacts and, as in the majority of cases, where there is little ecological consequence but substantial socio-economic benefits. The research has been applied to EU risk assessment and quarantine measures for the management of non-native species. It also provides the scientific base for the Environment Agency's eradication of Pseudorasbora parva, more commonly known as topmouth gudgeon, from UK freshwaters. This is protecting a fisheries industry worth over £3 billion per annum.
The research described has contributed to the design and testing of an environmental risk assessment (ERA) methodology as part of the licensing system for the import and release of non-native invertebrate biological control agents (IBCAs) in EU countries. Both the ERA and a wider protocol are now used in a number of EU countries, and have been recently adopted as a `Standard' viz. `Import and release of non-indigenous biological control agents' by the European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) — Standard PM 6/2(2). This research programme has enabled the ERA information requirements in licence application dossiers for the release of non-native biocontrol agents to be standardised across national regulatory authorities in different European countries, thus reducing costs of commercial production and use.