Restrictions will be placed upon a popular plant used by home-aquarium owners, after the ACT government declared it to be an invasive pest.
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However, industry experts have said the new definition for the freshwater weed known as frogbit would not stop it being sold, with the species able to be traded online.
With frogbit now being listed as a pest plant, it can only be sold in the ACT with a permit. A permit will also be required to propagate, supply or import the species.
Maximum fines of up to $8000 will be in place for those breaching the biosecurity rules.
While frogbit has only just been declared as a pest plant in the ACT, similar declarations had been in place in NSW and Victoria for some time.
ACT Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the species was able to cause considerable damage to Canberra's waterways.
"While there aren't any known outbreaks of this weed in the ACT, it is fast-spreading and has shown to be highly invasive in other parts of the country," Ms Vassarotti said.
"We are acting now to prevent it spreading and the consequent environmental and economic impacts that have occurred elsewhere."
ACT environmental officers are set to meet with Canberra aquatic store owners in coming days to explain the changes.
The plant species originated in South America and does not have any natural enemies in Australia.
Director of ACT biosecurity and rural services Warren Schofield said the lack of any natural predators to frogbit meant the species was able to spread rapidly in the environment.
"It has the potential to choke up waterways and cause environmental damage," Mr Schofield said.
"While they are used in backyard ponds and aquariums as a decorative plant, the problem is when people don't realise their potential and remove the excess plants and leave it in the environment and it takes off."
Michael Jones is the owner of aquarium supply store Canberra Aquatics and said while frogbit was popular among some aquarium owners, he hasn't sold the product since the NSW government declared it as invasive.
"It just became too much of a risk," Mr Jones said.
"The ACT's decision was certainly not a surprise considering it had already been declared as a pest in NSW."
Frogbit may not be seen in many bricks-and-mortar aquatic supply stores, but the species can be readily bought on websites such as Gumtree or eBay.
Mr Jones said despite the new restrictions in the ACT, the pest was still likely to be bought by those who wanted it. "It won't stop people at all, plenty of illegal stuff still gets sold online," he said. "It's very commonly traded on those sort of websites."
Mr Schofield said biosecurity officers regularly monitored online trading sites to see if any illegal species were being purchased for use in Canberra.
"However, we do rely on the general public to help us out, as we can't sit here all day looking through all of the websites," Mr Schofield said.
"We also want to make people aware of the risks and want to talk people that may be unintentionally growing a weed." Frogbit sightings can be made to the National Emergency Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.