Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has identified the Senegal tea weed pest in the Clive River and the Karamu Stream, the first time the pest has been found in the region.
Listed as an “exclusion pest” under the Hawke’s Bay regional pest management plan 2018-2023, Senegal tea is an aquatic and aggressive pest native to South America.
Regional council catchment management biosecurity lead Matt Short said the next few weeks would be crucial to determine the spread.
“Senegal tea becomes dormant over winter and dies back to its roots, then re-sprouts in spring. With the plant already dying back in places, it’s important we use this small window to identify the scale of the spread.
“The plant was initially detected using environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples taken from Te Awa Mokotūāraro (Clive River).