Darwin
Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Mon 24 Sep 2012 08:40
After a fairly exhausting last day and night we arrived in Darwin in the early morning and anchored out as we did not have permission to go to the Cullen Bay Marina waiting pontoon until 1900. We were booked in to receive black mussel treatment to Marita. Boats coming in from international waters have to be treated to prevent the black mussel getting into the marinas which have lock access due to the large tidal range. The larvae get into the salt water intakes and become mussels causing blockage. If they get into the marinas there is no natural predator so the number of mussels grow and cause a lot of problems---Cullen Bay Marina had to close for 2 months as a result of an outbreak. The Government pay for the treatment and if mussels are identified on your boat they may arrange for the boat to be lifted out for a deep clean, at their cost.
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