Silent marine invaders spread through neglect of treaty

WWF 13 Jul 09;

London, UK - Marine pest species costing billions in damage to fisheries, coastal communities and infrastructure are spreading as the world’s shipping nations continue to largely neglect bringing into effect an international treaty setting out requirements for consistent handling and treatment of ships’ ballast water.

Silent Invasion, a new report issued by WWF as International Maritime Organization (IMO) delegates meet to consider environmental aspects of shipping in London today, details 24 cases where significant marine pests were most likely introduced or spread through discharges of ships ballast water during the five years in which the Convention on the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments was ratified by only one of the world’s top ten shipping states.

In that time, the North American comb jellyfish that virtually wiped out the anchovy and sprat stocks in the Black Sea in the 1990s has been expanding in the Caspian Sea, North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

The Chinese mitten crab has established itself on both sides of the north Atlantic and is estimated to have caused damage to river banks, fishing gear and industrial water systems to the tune of €80 million in Germany alone.

“The IMO Ballast Water Convention provides the set of agreed practices and standards for effective control of ballast water internationally, minimizing the spread of marine invasive organisms while imposing minimal costs upon shipping and trade,”. said Dr Anita Mäkinen, WWF’s head of delegation to the IMO meeting.

“Responsible flag states must urgently ratify and implement the Convention to effectively halt marine pest invasions from ballast water – in the long run saving tax payers’ money by avoiding clean ups of affected ecosystems, industry and infrastructure,”

An estimated 7,000 marine and coastal species travel across the world’s oceans every day in ballast tanks and 84% of the world’s 232 marine ecoregions have reported findings of invasive species.

International shipping is considered the main introduction pathway for many pest organisms, unwanted passengers on the voyages that shift approximately 90% of all internationally traded goods.

The vast majority of these travellers perish in the harsh conditions of the ballast tanks or shortly after entering their new habitat, but the hardy species that flourish in new environments can affect the productivity of fisheries and aquaculture, the economy and livelihoods of communities and the environmental health of coastal waters and estuaries.

Key elements of the global shipping industry are also clamouring for the introduction into force of the convention, as an alternative to ad hoc measures that vary from state to state and involve additional expenses, delays and possible jeopardy to crew and vessel safety.

“The industry needs to act with urgency to respond to this threat,” said Mr Arild Iversen, CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. “What is needed are the framework conditions to support a global level playing field for owners and operators to implement technologies that are for the most part already available.

“The IMO Ballast Water Convention is the appropriate mechanism for this to happen.”

It is estimated that since the adoption of the convention in 2004, and until the end of 2009, global economic losses attributed to the spread of invasive marine organisms could be some US$50 billion.

According to Silent Invasion, not treating ballast waters imposes marine pest associated direct costs equivalent to about 70 US cents per tonne of untreated water – or US$ 7 billion per year for the ten billion tonnes of water transported globally each year.

A wide roll-out of water treatment methods facilitated by the entry into force of the Convention could lower costs to only 4 US cents per tonne of treated water - less than 6% of the annual costs of not addressing the issue of the damaging spread of marine pests.

The Convention comes into effect when ratified by 30 states representing 35% of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage. At this time, the figure stands at 18 states representing 15.4% of the world’s tonnage, with Liberia the only large flag state having ratified.

However, if the world’s largest shipping nation, Panama, signs the convention, with 22.6% of world shipping tonnage, along with additional 11 flag states of any size, the Convention will enter into force, providing the international framework the shipping industry and governments need to help stem the tide of invasions and take steps to minimise the threats.

“The old argument that technologies and treatments were not available is now obsolete,” said Dr Mäkinen.

“Panama as the world’s premier shipping nation should take the lead in ratifying and implementing the IMO Ballast Water Convention.”

Ballast tank invaders wreaking havoc
Emily Beament, The Scotsman 13 Jul 09;

THE spread of invasive species carried across the world in the ballast tanks of ships is causing billions of pounds of damage each year, conservationists warned today.

Creatures such as the Chinese mitten crab have been able to establish themselves in new habitats after being transported from their natural homes in ballast water.

About 7,000 marine and coastal species travel across the world's oceans every day, a report for wildlife conservation charity WWF said.

Some of them become invasive in new sites, breeding prolifically by "escaping" the predators or diseases which would normally keep their numbers under control, competing with local species, disrupting food chains or damaging habitats.

The report estimated that in the last five years, invasive species have cost marine and coastal activities including fisheries, aquaculture, industrial infrastructure and harbours some US$50 billion (£31bn) worldwide.

According to the study for WWF, last year 84 per cent of the world's marine regions had reported findings of invasive species, with shipping a major reason for their spread.

The conservation charity urged countries to adopt an international treaty which would bring in measures for ballast water – used to stabilise ships and ensure efficient fuel use – to tackle the problem.

Not enough countries have ratified the Ballast Water Convention, established in 2004, to bring it into force, with only one of the top shipping states – Liberia – doing so. As a result, the number of damaging species spreading into new areas is continuing to rise.

Invasive species include Chinese mitten crabs, which originate in the Far East but have spread to other parts of the world in the ballast of ships. The crab can burrow into and destroy fragile riverbanks, prey on other species and compete with native animals such as crayfish.

The North American comb jellyfish, which helped to virtually wipe out anchovy and sprat stocks in the Black Sea in the late 1980s, is now expanding into the Caspian Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

The red mysid shrimp has spread from the Black and Caspian Seas into the North Sea, including Belgium, France, the UK and Ireland and across to the US – with fears its wide diet is likely to damage ecosystems.

The poisonous Indo-Pacific lionfish originally turned up in the Atlantic after being released from aquariums, but larvae and young could spread further in ballast water, which can also contain a number of bacteria and diseases including cholera.

Ahead of a meeting of the International Maritime Organisation in London this week, WWF called on nations under whose flags most ships operate to ratify the convention.

WWF's delegation head Dr Anita Makinen said: "The IMO Ballast Water Convention provides the set of agreed practices and standards for effective control of ballast water internationally, minimising the spread of marine invasive organisms while imposing minimal costs upon shipping and trade."

IN FOREIGN WATERS

EXAMPLES of species with strong to moderate links to ballast water:

• North American comb jelly (pictured right) – increasingly found in north-west Europe and Norway, and Swedish coastal waters

• Australian spotted jellyfish – appeared in Texan waters in 2006 and threatens commercial shrimp and crab fisheries in Gulf of Mexico

• Conrad's false mussel – found in Finnish Baltic waters in 2004 and now increasing near cooling water outfalls of power plants

• North Asian amphipod – recorded for first time in Irish waters in 2006

• Gammarid amphipod (pictured right) – firmly established in northern Baltic and replacing native species

• Red mysid shrimp – native to the waters around the Black and Caspian Seas, it has reached Ireland and England

• Fish-hook water flea – clogs nets and fishing gear

• Asian shrimp – established in UK rivers and estuaries in the 1990s and has spread ever since

• Asian shore crab – discovered in Belgium and French coastal waters

Invasive species 'spread around world in ships' ballast tanks'
The Telegraph 13 Jul 09;

The spread of invasive species carried across the world in the ballast tanks of ships is causing billions of pounds of damage each year, conservationists warned.

Creatures such as the Chinese mitten crab, which is on the rise in the Thames and other English rivers, have been able to establish themselves in new habitats after being transported from their natural homes in ballast water.

Around 7,000 marine and coastal species travel across the world's oceans every day, a report for conservation charity WWF said.

Some of them become invasive in new sites, breeding prolifically by "escaping" the predators or diseases which would normally keep their numbers under control, competing with local species, disrupting food chains or damaging habitats.

The report estimated that in the last five years, invasive species have cost marine and coastal activities including fisheries, aquaculture, industrial infrastructure and harbours some £31 billion worldwide.

According to the study for WWF, last year 84pc of the world's marine regions had reported findings of invasive species, with shipping a major reason for their spread.

The conservation charity urged countries to adopt an international treaty which would bring in measures for ballast water - used to stabilise ships and ensure efficient fuel use - to tackle the problem.

Not enough countries have ratified the Ballast Water Convention, established in 2004, to bring it into force, with only one of the top shipping states - Liberia - doing so.

As a result, the number of damaging species spreading into new areas is continuing to rise.

Invasive species include Chinese mitten crabs, whose name comes from their large claws which are covered in bristles resembling mittens, which originate in the Far East but have spread to other parts of the world in the ballast of ships.

The crab has colonised the Thames and is establishing itself in other rivers around England, where it can burrow into and destroy fragile riverbanks, prey on other species and compete with native animals such as crayfish.

The North American comb jellyfish which helped to virtually wipe out anchovy and sprat stocks in the Black Sea in the late 1980s, is now expanding into the Caspian Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

The red mysid shrimp has spread from the Black and Caspian Seas into the North Sea, including Belgium, France, England and Ireland and across to the US - with fears its wide diet is likely to damage ecosystems, while the "red tide" microalgae has also spread through ballast water.

The Indo-Pacific poisonous lionfish originally turned up in the Atlantic after being released from aquariums but larvae and young could spread further in ballast water, which can also contain a number of bacteria and diseases including cholera.

Ahead of a meeting of the International Maritime Organisation in London this week, WWF called on nations under whose flags most ships operate to ratify the convention.

Dr Anita Makinen, WWF's head of delegation to the meeting, said: "The IMO Ballast Water Convention provides the set of agreed practices and standards for effective control of ballast water internationally, minimising the spread of marine invasive organisms while imposing minimal costs upon shipping and trade."

Implementing the convention would, she said, "effectively halt marine pest invasions from ballast water - in the long run saving taxpayers' money by avoiding clean ups of affected ecosystems, industry and infrastructure".