With the holiday season in full swing, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council along with volunteers from the Te Arawa Lakes Trust will be visiting various boat ramps in the region.
These visits will be to remind lake users of the importance of correctly cleaning their equipment to avoid the spread of unwanted freshwater pests.
"We will be present at some of the most popular boat ramps over the next six weekends to educate people on how to check, clean, drain and dry their equipment and to ensure that they do so correctly," Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Lucas MacDonald said.
MacDonald highlighted unwanted freshwater pests such as hornwort and catfish were already present in some Rotorua Te Arawa lakes, so it was vital to both prevent their further spread and avoid any new pests coming into the region.
Once a pest enters a waterway they can disperse rapidly and destroy the environmental, recreational and aesthetic values of the waterways.