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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.

Species from around the world that are "hitching a lift" on ships threaten Antarctica's pristine marine ecosystem.

Understanding how wild birds facilitate the maintenance, reassortment, and dispersal of influenza A viruses (IAV) is key to forecasting global disease spread. The current highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in North America highlights the question of how viruses are transported between continents. Recent NWHC research sheds light on this question and the potential role Iceland may play.

The Great Lakes remain one of the most heavily invaded freshwater systems in the world. Ballast water from cargo ships crossing the ocean inadvertently brought in many aquatic invasive species (AIS), accounting for the introduction of 40% of all nonindigenous aquatic species in the Great Lakes. However, collaborative efforts have led to pioneering research and policy changes that have reduced this threat.

Congressional Research Service Report RL32344.

Canada's coasts and waterways are vital to our environment, livelihoods, and economy, and must be protected. Ballast water, which helps keep vessels stable in the water, can accidentally introduce and spread aquatic invasive species, like the zebra mussel, if released in the water untreated. To further protect Canadian waters, the Government of Canada is taking action to limit the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species in ballast water. Today, the Canadian Minister of Transport announced the coming into force of the new Ballast Water Regulations to strengthen existing rules for vessels on international voyages and the introduction of new rules for vessels which remain in Canada and on the Great Lakes. These regulations, which replace the Ballast Water Control and Management Regulations, apply to vessels in Canadian waters and to Canadian vessels anywhere in the world. Vessels are now required to:

• plan their ballast water management and reduce the number of organisms in their ballast water, typically by installing a ballast water management system; and
• carry a valid certificate, keep records, and be regularly surveyed and inspected. Smaller vessels may follow an equivalent approach tailored to their operations and size.

See also: Managing Ballast Water and Backgrounder: Ballast Water Regulations.

The 2018 Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) requires an annual report on the effectiveness of national ballast water management (BWM) requirements. This report provides analyses of (1) the patterns of ballast water (BW) delivery and management; (2) Coast Guard’s compliance and enforcement actions regarding BWM regulations; and (3) patterns of biological invasions by marine and estuarine aquatic nuisance species (ANS). It covers the two-year period from January 2020 through December 2021 to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s statutorily mandated BWM regulatory program and validates that enforcement efforts continue to increase BWM and reduce the risk of introducing ANS into U.S. waters.

Citation: National Ballast Information Clearinghouse and United States Coast Guard. 2023. Commercial Vessel Ballast Water Management (2020-2021): Report to Congress July 7, 2023. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Homeland Security.

Compiled and Edited by: Gregory Ruiz and David Reid, NOAA Technical Memorandum GLERL-142.
See also: GLERL Technical Reports for more reports

The aim of this report was to identify the resources, strategies, and policies necessary to create, maintain, and make accessible one or more commodity/invasive species databases that EPA and other relevant agencies can apply to trade policy decision-making in a timely and scientifically-based manner.

On Monday April 8, 2024, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in a roughly 115 mile wide swath (called the path of totality) crossing North America as it passes over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Millions of travelers are expected to camp out over the weekend so they can be in the best viewing area on Monday to see the amazing spectacle of a complete solar eclipse. The Nature Conservancy is asking everyone that plans to use firewood for the solar eclipse celebration weekend to buy local firewood near their destination, bring packaged certified heat-treated firewood, or gather their firewood responsibly on site if permitted by the campground or landowner.

The EPA issued a final vessel general permit (VGP) regulating vessel discharges from commercial vessels, including ballast water, to protect the nation's waters from ship-borne pollutants and reduce invasive species in U.S. waters. The permit imposes international cleanliness standards that the Coast Guard also adopted in regulations it issued last year.

Note: On December 4, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, which includes as Title IX the Vessel Incident Discharge Act of 2018 (“VIDA”). The new regulations will replace the EPA’s 2013 Vessel General Permit (“VGP”). EPA first issued the Vessel General Permit (VGP) in 2008 and subsequently reissued it in 2013.

A key international measure for environmental protection that aims to stop the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water enters into force. The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) addresses aquatic invasive alien species (IAS) by requiring all ships to implement a ballast water management plan, among other actions.
See also: Ballast Water Convention Enters into Force (Sep 12, 2017)

Building Partnerships to Assist Developing Countries to Reduce the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water, simply referred to as GloBallast Partnerships (GBP), was initiated in late 2007 and is intended to build on the progress made in the original project. This was initially planned as a five-year project, from October 2007 to October 2012, but was extended until June 2017.

Today the U.S. Senate passed legislation which changes how ballast water discharges from ships – the most common pathway for invasive species to enter the Great Lakes – are regulated. Great Lakes champions in the Senate worked tirelessly to improve the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), which was included in the U.S. Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017, and protect the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) released a report on the second phase of its work to stop internet sales of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Great Lakes region. The GLC initiative, known as the Great Lakes Detector of Invasive Aquatics in Trade (GLDIATR), demonstrated that “web crawling” applications can be used to track the online sale of priority AIS and support the work of AIS researchers, outreach coordinators, managers, and law enforcement officials across the Great Lakes basin.

Great Lakes Law is an independent online resource (blog) by by Professor Noah Hall, which provides news, analysis, and commentary on all things wet and legal in the Great Lakes region. Includes various categories related to aquatic invasive species.