Building Experimental Capacity to Assess Ballast Treatment Effectiveness and Residual Risk

Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC, Seattle) | Format: URL

wfrc.usgs.gov — Ballast water discharges are the most significant cause of aquatic biological invasions in coastal waters, including the Great Lakes. Currently, treatment of ballast water prior to discharge at the receiving port offers significant promise to help control this problem. However, development of treatment technologies is limited by lack of objective More... Ballast water discharges are the most significant cause of aquatic biological invasions in coastal waters, including the Great Lakes. Currently, treatment of ballast water prior to discharge at the receiving port offers significant promise to help control this problem. However, development of treatment technologies is limited by lack of objective information about effectiveness. The central question is the extent to which a ballast water treatment process (for which there are many candidate approaches) will alter the viability or densities of a variety of marine organisms over time and under a variety of conditions (temperature, salinity, and a host of other variables). Less...