NBIC Overview

Under the National Invasive Species Act of 1996, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) created the National Ballast Water Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) to collect and analyze national data relevant to shipping and ballasting practices as they relate to coastal marine invasions (see Box 1).  Established at SERC in 1997, the principal goal of NBIC has been to track:

Nationwide Patterns of Ballast Water Delivery and Management. All commercial ships arriving to all U.S. ports from report information about the quantity, origin, and possible control measures for their ballast water - a primary mechanism for transfer of non-native marine species throughout the world. At present, NBIC receives roughly 20,000 ballast water reporting forms per year (approximately 35% of the total number qualifying arrivals). Every two years, NBIC provides a detailed analysis and report to the U.S. Coast Guard and Congress on the patterns of ballast water delivery by coastal state, vessel type, port of origin, and season. A key issue is the extent to which ships undertake ballast water exchange, a management technique to flush potential invaders out of the tanks prior to arrival in U.S. waters. NBIC’s analyses are used by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Congress to assess national needs with respect to ballast water management and to track program performance.

Box 1. Excerpt from the National Invasive Species Act of 1996

National Ballast Information Clearinghouse