Maritime transport moves more than 90 per cent of the world’s freight, and uses up to five billion tonnes of ballast water annually. Ballast water is absolutely essential for safe, efficient and modern shipping operations, providing stability to the vessels. There are, however, damaging effects on marine life.
Organisms without natural enemies affect biodiversity
When organisms are moved by a ship’s ballast tank from one ecosystem, where they have natural enemies to another where they have none, they may establish in new locations. Lack of natural enemies give the “invaders” an opportunity to expand uncontrollably.
As a result, indigenous organisms, for which the competitive climate is completely different, can be wiped out. Consequently, this affects biodiversity and if an ocean is fished out or contaminated, the environmental threat increases since there is no natural protection left. In turn, this has serious consequences for the fishing industry and people who are dependent on fishing for a living. The most serious problem with this kind of change is that it is irreversible: the situation can never be restored to its previous condition.
FACTS
Marine species in the wrong ecosystem
A few examples of invasive species are:
- The zebra mussel that originates from Europe has infested 40 per cent of the internal waterways in the US. Millions of dollars are spent annually to unclog pipes and inlets.
- Commercial fisheries in the Black Sea have been collapsed due to depletion of plankton stocks by the North American comb jellyfish.
- Toxic dinoflagellates are being absorbed by filter-feeding shellfish, such as oysters, in several countries. These can cause illness or even be fatal to humans eating the shellfish.
Read about our solutions within ballast water