Amendments to an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of potentially invasive species in ships' ballast water entered into force on 13 October 2019. The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, to address this problem. The BWM Convention entered into force in 2017. The amendments formalise an implementation schedule to ensure ships manage their ballast water to meet a specified standard ("D-2 standard") aimed at ensuring that viable organisms are not released into new sea areas, and make mandatory the Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems, which sets out how ballast water management systems used to achieve the D-2 standard have to be assessed and approved. This will help ensure that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location – and avoid the spread of invasive species as well as potentially harmful pathogens.
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Search HelpInternational Maritime Organization.
National Sea Grant Law Center.
Initiative of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species (WRP). The goal of the WRP initiative is to develop a multi-state vision for watercraft inspection and decontamination (WID) programs. The National Sea Grant Law Center is an active participant in this initiative, providing legal research support and leading efforts to develop model legislation and regulations for WID Programs.
Emerald Ash Borer Information Network.
See "EAB Locations" section, includes state maps
Nature Conservancy. Don't Move Firewood.
Provides specific state information on their firewood regulations and recommendations (includes Canada and Mexico).
TexasInvasives.org.
Zebra mussels are a small, destructive invasive species that can spread across Texas by hitching a ride on boats and trailers. Zebra mussels can cause tremendous environmental and economic damage - hurting aquatic life, damaging your boat, hindering water recreation and even threatening your water supply. In the state's ongoing effort to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels, new rules effective July 1, 2014 require that all boats operating on public fresh water anywhere in Texas be drained after use.
Pacific Biosecurity; Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme; Pacific Community.
National Plant Board.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine Program (USDA, APHIS, PPQ) and the plant health agencies in each of the 50 states, regulate the shipment of nursery and greenhouse stock in an effort to minimize the spread of harmful insects, diseases, and other pests. The Federal & State Quarantine Summaries is designed as a reference tool for nursery stock growers, brokers, purchasers, and others involved in the buying selling, and interstate transport of nursery and greenhouse plant crops. It outlines the basic quarantine and other plant health requirements of APHIS, all 50 states, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Guam. The information presented here is designed as an aid to help users avoid costly delays, rejections of plant material shipments, and introduction of harmful pests into new areas.
Tahoe Resource Conservation District; Tahoe Regional Planning Agency; DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Watercraft are the largest vectors for spreading aquatic invasive species (AIS), such as quagga and zebra mussels into new waterways, making boat inspections a vital aspect of protecting Lake Tahoe and other nearby water bodies.