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Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria. These materials often include non-native, nuisance, and exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to aquatic ecosystems, along with serious human health issues including death.
Ballast water discharges are believed to be the leading source of invasive species in U.S. marine waters, thus posing public health and environmental risks, as well as significant economic cost to industries such as water and power utilities, commercial and recreational fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. [1]
A cargo ship pumps ballast water over the side. An invasive species is a species not native to a particular location which can spread to a degree that causes damage to the environment, human economy or human health. [19]
Timescales are very important when considering regrowth. For instance, if ballast water is treated at intake and held in ballast tanks for over a week before discharge, then the organisms surviving the treatment could have enough time to increase in numbers and potentially exceed discharge standards before the end of the voyage.
Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria. These materials often include non-native, nuisance, and exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to aquatic ecosystems, along with serious human health issues including death.
A tank of ballast water is estimated to contain around 3,000 non-native species. [25] Once established, it is difficult to eradicate an exotic organism from an ecosystem. The San Francisco Bay is one of the places in the world that is the most impacted by foreign and invasive species.
Organisms targeted by NISA are categorized as aquatic nuisance species, including in particular zebra mussels and Eurasian ruffe.To extend upon NANPCA, NISA authorizes regulation of ballast water, a key factor in the spread of aquatic invasive species; funding for prevention and control research; regional involvement with the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force; and education and technical ...
Norwegian Dawn and Carnival Dream moored alongside in New Orleans (2015). Cruise ships carrying several thousand passengers and crew have been compared to “floating cities,” and the volume of wastes that they produce is comparably large, consisting of sewage; wastewater from sinks, showers, and galleys (); hazardous wastes; solid waste; oily bilge water; ballast water; and air pollution.