A combination of artificial intelligence and scientific ingenuity looks set to be the next step forward in protecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s lakes and rivers from invasive aquatic weeds. Management and detection of invasive submerged weeds costs millions of dollars annually, but NIWA researchers have developed a way to detect and identify submerged weeds. This technology will enable agencies to survey far larger areas more efficiently than is currently possible, and potentially lead much faster responses to new incursions. Invasive submerged weeds can degrade water quality, exacerbate silt and flooding, reduce the number of native animals and plants and play