BIO-SECURITY – REMOTE ISLANDS

Photos above from Shutterstock

What and Why: To find out more about the negative impacts of rodents (and mongooses) on the native species and ecosystems of the Hawaiian islands, please read DLNR’s informational page: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/removerats/home/impacts-of-rodents-mongooses/

In addition to rodents, invasive ants are another pest that is important to prevent from being transported to Papahānaumokuākea and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments, which are home to numerous native seabird and plant species.

We have begun training dog teams to prepare for future inspections, and plan to have them certified by the winter of 2023. Our targets include rodents (mice, rats), little fire ants and yellow crazy ants.

Where: Applications include:

1) Screening vessels and cargo headed for the marine national monuments;

2) Monitoring of remote atolls post-eradication;

3) Surveillance for incursions within bird sanctuaries and other areas protected by predator-proof fencing.

Other Locations: CDH is also available to assist other Pacific islands with their bio-security K9 programs. In 2022, we assisted Guam Department of Agriculture in selecting and training working dog candidates for their bio-security program which targets invasive invertebrates.