Marine scientists are asking U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to make possessing a particular seaweed a crime. Last week, 107 scientists wrote Babbitt and urged him to ban the possession, transport, and sale of Caulerpa taxifolia, a lush aquarium plant that has already invaded Mediterranean coastal waters, choking out native life. Without a ban--which France, Spain, and Australia have already imposed--researchers say it is only a matter of time before the weed gains a foothold in U.S. waters.
The researchers also called on Babbitt to consider a big change in import policy. Currently, the United States bans the entry only of those organisms on a few short "dirty lists" of pests and weeds. But the researchers say the ecological risks posed by invaders demand a "clean list" approach: "Organisms [should] be imported only if the evidence shows they are not dangerous," says ecologist Dan Simberloff of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A formal response is not expected until early next year.
