Science Advisory Report 2021/043

Science Advice on “Clean, Drain, Dry and Decontaminate” treatments and protocols to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species

Summary

• To prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) by water-based commercial and recreational activities, many government and non-government organizations encourage owners and operators to Clean, Drain, Dry (CDD) their watercraft, trailers, and equipment. In some cases, an additional decontamination step may be applied (CDD+D) that generally includes disinfection with details varying depending on the target organism or application, and is often performed by trained personnel with specialized equipment.
• To understand the effectiveness and limitations of CDD+D for watercraft under 24 m, trailers, and equipment that are moved from water to land before entering a new waterbody, a literature review of existing treatments, protocols, and supporting scientific literature was conducted. Watercraft, trailers, and equipment that remain in water were not considered, nor was public uptake of CDD+D.
• Reducing propagule pressure using CDD+D can be achieved by physically removing (e.g., cleaning, scrubbing, hand-picking) and/or killing AIS (e.g., pressure-washing, temperature or chemical treatment). Most existing literature focused on mortality as a measure of effectiveness.
• Numerous species- or environment-specific decontamination treatments were identified as effective at killing or removing AIS. However, no single decontamination treatment was applicable to all freshwater and marine AIS. Effective options for species of interest are presented in Tables 2 to 5.
• Key uncertainties and knowledge gaps include:
1. Making comparisons between studies that had different experimental designs, scales, and methods of measuring mortality and/or removal;
2. Applying conclusions from laboratory studies to field conditions; and,
3. Interpreting the effectiveness of decontamination treatments that were designed for different applications (e.g., aquaculture transfers, cleaning of infrastructure).
• This work also focused on select AIS of interest, but additional taxonomic groups could be considered in the future.

This Science Advisory Report is from the March 30 – April 1, 2021 National Advisory Meeting for Science Advice on “Clean, Drain, Dry and Decontaminate” Treatments and Protocols to Prevent the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

Science Advisory Report 2021/043 (PDF, 631 KB)

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