Managing Sea Spurge in Tasmania With A Biological Control

Sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias) is a highly invasive coastal weed along the southern coastline of Australia. Native to Europe and North Africa, sea spurge was likely introduced to Australia in the early 20th century through ballast water of ships arriving from Europe. It currently infests many beaches within the World Heritage Area on the West and South Coasts of Tasmania.

​A biological control agent has been found, that infects the leaves of sea spurge, forming large dark brown circular leaf lesions that progress to the stem and reduce plant performance. To slow the introduction of sea spurge from Victoria and Tasmania to beaches in New South Wales, the NSW Government has co-invested with CSIRO in a project to release the biocontrol agent along the Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines.

Several community groups expressed interest in receiving the fungus to undertake releases in areas that were heavily infested by the weed. Registered community participants currently include private citizens, government agencies and members of several volunteer community groups (e.g., Bushcare, Coastcare, Friends groups, Landcare etc.) based in Tasmania.

Community participation in this project has been vital to the successful release of the biocontrol agent in Tasmania and Victoria. CSIRO is eager to continue engagement with community organisations for additional releases of the agent during Autumn and Spring of 2023. If you would like to join the fight against Sea Spurge, read more at
www.landcaretas.org.au/community_action_in_managing_sea_spurge?utm_campaign=the_dirty_hands_february_2023&utm_medium=email&utm_source=landcaretas