Study: Many Ships Fail to Take Precautions to Stop Spread of Invasive Species

Invasive species, including oyster-killing microorganisms and toxic algae, have been a major headache for the Chesapeake Bay and other water bodies.  A new report by Smithsonian researchers explains why the problem is especially bad along the U.S. East Coast.

Since 2004, most ships entering U.S. ports have been required to flush out their ballast tanks in the open ocean to kill or purge hitchhiking invasive species.  But the paper published in Bioscience by Whitman Miller of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center concludes that 23 percent of the ballast water released in ports along the U.S. East Coast has not undergone ballast water exchange. By contrast, 5 percent of the ballast water released into West Coast ports has not undergone this procedure to purge invasive species from their ballast tanks.

Why the difference?  The 2004 federal law that requires ballast water exchange only mandates the procedure if a ship travels more than 200 miles from shore. More ships travelling to East Coast ports journey from South America, the Caribbean or other foreign ports without ever going this far out into the ocean.

Miller said that the lack of protection for Eastern ports is a major reason that authorities need to adopt a new system for killing invasive species, based on on-board equipment that can kill marine hitchhikers. 

“Given the geographic constraints of shipping, and the complexity of the invasion process, it is clear that we need to move to onboard ballast water treatment technologies that will allow ships to operate anywhere in the world without fear of releasing harmful invasive species,” Miller said.

To learn more, read the whole report, click here. 

By Tom Pelton

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

(Photo at top from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)

 

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Given the geographical difficulties of delivery, and the complex ness of the intrusion procedure, it is obvious that we need to shift to built in ballast water therapy technological innovation that will allow delivers to work anywhere in the world without worry of launching dangerous obtrusive species

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