Main article: Ballast Water Management Convention Via targeted ballast management on Singapore and a few other "influential" ports, cross-region species exchange to/from the Pacific region can be combinatorially reduced. Singapore Īmong 818 ports in the Pacific region, Singapore alone accounts for an estimated of 26 percent of cross-region (long range) species exchange. EPA issued a separate permit for smaller commercial vessels in 2014. The permit sets numeric ballast water discharge limits for commercial vessels 79 feet (24 m) in length or greater. Under the authority of the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its latest Vessel General Permit in 2013. The Coast Guard issued ballast water regulations in 2012. Ĭongress passed the National Invasive Species Act in 1996 in order to regulate ballast water discharges.
aquatic ecosystems is more than $6 billion per year. Studies suggest that the economic cost just from introduction of pest mollusks (zebra mussels, the Asian clam, and others) to U.S. marine waters, thus posing public health and environmental risks, as well as significant economic cost to industries such as water and power utilities, commercial and recreational fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. Fish and Wildlife Service at about $5 billion.īallast water discharges are believed to be the leading source of invasive species in U.S. The economic cost of this introduction has been estimated by the U.S. Within 10 years it had spread to all of the five neighbouring Great Lakes. Clair in the ballast water of a transatlantic freighter in 1988. The zebra mussel, which is native to the Caspian and Black Seas, arrived in Lake St. Main article: Ballast water regulation in the United States Ballast water is controlled under the Biosecurity Act 1993.Ī form of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, previously reported only in Bangladesh apparently arrived via ballast water in Peru in 1991, killing more than 10,000 people over the following three years. Ballast tanks are only used in cargo ships there. The ballast tanks in New Zealand carry animals and plants that kill ecosystems. Spiny Water Flea Bythotrephes longimanusīallast water issues by country New Zealand.North Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis.
Main article: Dispersal of invasive species by ballast water These materials often include non-native, nuisance, exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to aquatic ecosystems, along with serious human health issues including death. Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria. It is also controlled through national regulations, which may be separate from the Convention, such as in the United States.Ĭruise ships, large tankers, and bulk cargo carriers use a huge amount of ballast water, which is often taken on in the coastal waters in one region after ships discharge wastewater or unload cargo, and discharged at the next port of call, wherever more cargo is loaded. The discharge of ballast water and sediments by ships is governed globally under the Ballast Water Management Convention, since its entry into force in September 2017. Diagram showing the water pollution of the seas from untreated ballast water dischargesīallast water discharges by ships can have a negative impact on the marine environment.
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