Sodium Monofluoroacetate (1080) Water-Residue Analysis after Large-Scale Possum Control

Successful possum control operations were conducted in 1990, using aerially-sown sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) possum baits, at Waipoua (85% kill) and on Rangitoto Island (93% kill). In Waipoua Forest Sanctuary, streams and rivers were monitored for 4 months after 100 tonnes of 1080 possum baits were sown over 17 000 ha of forest. At Rangitoto Island, adjacent to Auckland, surface and ground water samples were analysed for 6 months after 20 tonnes of 1080 possum baits were sown over the 2300 ha island. No 1080 was detected in the streams and rivers of the Waipoua forest or in the surface or ground water of Rangitoto Island.