Otago regional councillor Michael Deaker yesterday queried aspects of New Zealand's apparent status as the ''global authority on didymo'', given big limitations on what was actually known about the organism involved.
''It's a big statement, 'global authority','' Cr Deaker said at a meeting of the council's regulatory committee.
Given limited overall knowledge, he asked, ''how does that make us an authority of didymo?''
He emphasised he had no technical knowledge of the matter and was looking at it from the viewpoint of a somewhat naive lay person.
But the council had ''a lot of resources'' which could be devoted to learning more about didymo (rock snot), perhaps in collaboration with a Crown Institute or the University of Otago.
He acknowledged one phase of the didymo life cycle involved a tiny organism invisible to the naked eye in water, but said the history of human medicine was filled with examples of how such micro-organisms had eventually been brought under control by various therapies.
Council officials said the idea of a council research involvement could be considered during the later annual plan process.
Council director environmental monitoring and operations Scott MacLean had earlier pointed out that the spread of didymo in Otago rivers and lakes had ''slowed significantly'' after a preventive programme had been adopted by the council.
An Otago didymo update report by Mr MacLean was tabled at the meeting.
He added that a ''Check, Clean, Dry'' plan supported each year by the council had been earlier developed by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
There was ''no known control tool'' for didymo and very little research had been undertaken elsewhere on the invasive alga and its potential impacts, Mr MacLean said.
Since the New Zealand incursion and extensive research undertaken here, this country was now considered ''the global authority on didymo''.
The committee later heard that a Crown body in this country and US authorities had acknowledged New Zealand's leading research role.
