June 14, 2011
Burlington, Ontario - A new study completed by researchers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network has determined that current ballast water policies for the Great Lakes are highly effective in protecting ecosystems from aquatic invasive species. The report was recently published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, and provides strong support for Canadian policies to be adopted around the world.
Ballast water, required for the safe navigation of ships, can inadvertently transport non-indigenous species into new areas. In 2006, Canada and the U.S. implemented the Great Lakes Ballast Water Program to help prevent new invasions. This program verifies that each and every vessel crossing the ocean exchanges its ballast water, or flushes its tanks, with mid-oceanic saltwater before entering the Great Lakes. Before this study, the effectiveness of the program was largely untested.
Between 1959 and 2006, an estimated 56 aquatic non-indigenous species were reported in the Great Lakes, of which 55-to-70 per cent was attributed to transoceanic shipping. Since 2006, when the program was implemented, no new invasive species attributed to ballast water have been recorded.
The study demonstrated the effectiveness of the program, both in the laboratory and onboard transatlantic ships. It concludes that similar programs could protect fresh water ecosystems around the world from invasive species transported by ballast water.
The Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network is a national network consisting of some of the world’s leading researchers, explorers and innovators in the field of aquatic invasive species.
- 30 -
Ballast Water Management in the Great Lakes Reduces the Introduction of Aquatic Invasive Species: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Study
For more information:
Rachelle Smith
Communications Manager
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Winnipeg, MB
(204) 983-4197
NR-C&A–11-09E
