[Video transcript of interview with marine biologist Fam Charko.]

[The video opens with a drone view of a snorkelling in the sea at Brighton beach, followed by several snorkellers swimming by the Brighton Beach Pier.

The 100 Stars Vanished and Song for Heather sound track plays throughout the video.]

I’m Fam Charko, I’m the marine biologist and science communicator for the Port Phillip EcoCentre.

[Fam appears on screen wearing a Port Phillip EcoCentre blue button up shirt. She has long brown hair. And she stands in front of a screen of green ferns and plants.]

The lower thirds title appears, reading: Marine Biologist – Port Phillip EcoCentre.

On the beach in front of the Brighton Beach Baths a group of people assemble, some putting on wetsuits. Fam is speaking to volunteers by a table as some sign up to the Pest Watch program session. Fam holds a sheet that describes how to identify a Northern Pacific Seastar.]

Biosecurity means to me – really looking after the ecosystems here that we love so much and that we connect so deeply with and making sure that they stay in good nick for future generations.

[On screen there is a close up of the map of the marine environment by the Brighton Beach Pier. Fam searching for marine pests among the rocks beside the beach, with the St Kilda Marine Lighthouse in the background. A close up of Fam inspecting a discovery made on the beach with her measuring device in her other hand.]

If you want to go to a beautiful, thriving ecosystem with your friends and your family and spend time there; It’s good for your mental health, it’s good for your physical health, it’s good for your emotional health. And so, for people to be able to access those areas, it’s really important that they are healthy.

[A group of snorkellers in wetsuits emerge from the sea carrying yellow and black bags filled with Northern Pacific Seastars. There is an overhead view of the snorkellers in the water. A crowd of people in wetsuits and other beach attire gather around Fam. Fam is in the middle of the group, some people are in hats and jeans carrying cameras, talking.]

At the moment I am running a project called Pest Watch, which is funded by the Port Phillip Bay Fund, and this project helps community members and trains community members to keep an eye out for non-native species that may have turned up in Port Phillip Bay, and also in some cases, how to remove them safely.

[A mid-shot of a man in a worn sun hat and squid-print long sleeved sweater talks to members of the crowd. The group talk and gather around some tables. On one of the tables are Norther Pacific Seastars laid out and some stacked on top of one another as people place them on the table. A close up of a purple seastar surrounded by orange coloured seastars appears on screen with text that reads: Northern Pacific Seastars. A bearded man in a black t-shirt holds a seastar and closely inspects it to identify it. Seastars tumble out of one of the yellow bags carried in by the snorkellers.]

Biosecurity plays a huge role because when we are getting pest species in from other places on the planet and they come and take up residence in, for example, a sensitive ecosystem like Port Phillip Bay, what happens is that they can take over the native species and push them out or compete with them for resources like food and space.

[Hands reach out for the seastars on the table to lay them out for counting. There is a close up of a diagram and photos of Northern Pacific Seastars, laid upon a table. A close up of Fam holding a large Northern Pacific Seastar in her left hand. There are a bunch of muscles attached to a rock.]

So, it’s always important to check, clean and dry your equipment and your boats. So, check if there are any – if you have been in an areas where there are known marine pests and if there’s anything sticking to your boat or your gear, make sure you clean that off really well with the appropriate methods and make sure that all your gear is dry before you go from one waterway to the other.

[On screen a couple of snorkellers in full wetsuits, head gear, goggles, snorkels and holding flippers talk. Another person pulls on their wetsuit. There is a close up of a woman holding a snorkel mouthpiece and gloves in her hands. Two women, one holding two sets of flippers, the other holding a yellow and black bag and clutching a tin can she found in the water, both in full wetsuits, walk on the beach away from the water. A close up of another woman in a red and black wetsuit, holding her goggles, looks up.

On screen Fam, with her blue polar fleece zipped up, inspects a shell, pulling out an Asian Shore Crab, which is a marine pest. She holds out her left hand where the crab is crawling on her palm. A close up shows the crab sitting on her fingers. A photo of an Asian Shore Crab beside a 20-cent coin sits on a wetsuit-gloved hand.]

If you see or suspect that something might be a marine pest, make sure you take a good photo with some kind of measurement scale in it, like a pen or a coin and send it off to Agriculture Victoria to have it checked. And that’s how we can all make sure that we do the right thing.

[Stacks of Northern Pacific Seastars on the table, as a hand lifts one stack away. A person fills out measurements on a form held by a clipboard. Volunteers are gathered together. Fam smiles as she talks about PestWatch to the crowd. She points to a pest shore crab on her palm. Situated in the rocks, she holds a mollusc and the measuring tool, smiling at her find.]

So, for me, the most important thing about doing really good biosecurity practices as a community member and a professional is that we really preserve the unique, very, very beautiful ecosystems that we have here for future generations.

[The final scenes of the video show a drone view of the Brighton Beach Pier and marina with the Melbourne cityscape in the background. Text appears on the screen that shows the Agriculture Victoria logo and then is followed by a URL that reads agriculture.vic.gov.au/make-a-difference.

This is followed by an acknowledgement of Country in white text on a black screen that reads: Agriculture Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and their ongoing connection to the land and water.

The Victorian Government authorisation tag appears on screen, on the black background it reads:

Victoria State Government (logo)

Authorised by Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne]