Salvinia molesta has been called the world's worst water weed. Its careless release has created havoc as waterways in many tropical and sub-tropical countries have become clogged with its floating fronds. In the Sepik floodplain of Papua New Guinea, the weed has had a disastrous impact on the thousands of people whose lives depend on the waterways and lagoons of the area for food and transport.
In February 1982, CSIRO, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program, made the first release of a tiny weevil, Cyrtobagus, on Binatang Lagoon in the East Sepik. The result is one of the most spectacular examples of biological control in modern times. Hundreds of square kilometres of salvinia are being destroyed by the weevils as they spread through the area. Village life along the Sepik is returning to normal.
This film is a graphic account of the story as we follow Dr Peter Room, from CSIRO's Division of Entomology, on his historic journeys to Papua New Guinea to release the beetle and then to follow up the results.
Awards for Assault on the Sepik:
Film with the best Didactic Values, 3rd International Science Film Festival, Barcelona, 1985
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