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Coordination of Ballast Water Reporting Between Federal and State Programs: A Pilot Project

Introduction

Introduced species are affecting biological systems around the world, including both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Many of these species have been introduced through global trade. For aquatic systems, the discharge of ballast water from commercial vessels has been perceived as a principle vector for the introduction of nuisance species (Ruiz et al., 2000; Fofonoff et al., 2003; Drake et al., 2005; Verling et al., 2005). The establishment of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA) brought the need for monitoring ballast water as a vector for aquatic nuisance species to the fore.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) in conjunction with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) was tasked with developing a National Ballast Water Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) to monitor ballast water operations (Ruiz et al., 2000).The NBIC located at SERC became the depository for all ballast water reporting required by USCG regulations. Similarly, in 2002 the State of Oregon instated ballast water exchange and reporting regulations. The state and federal programs, both require ballast water reports from all coastal and international vessels arriving into Oregon and Columbia River (including both OR. and WA.) ports. In addition, both programs require the enforcement of reporting regulations.

Therefore federal and state programs receive, process, and analyze ballast water management reports. To promote a coordinated, complementary effort in ballast water reporting between programs, the Aquatic Bioinvasion Research and Policy Institute, a Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Portland Sate University (PSU) collaboration, initiated a reporting pilot project in January 2005.  Specifically, independent ballast water reporting activities at the federal and state (Oregon) level were coordinated to reduce the duplication of effort, increase the quality of data received, and enable quantitative comparisons of results between programs. Collaboration was fostered by implementing web-based database technologies, sharing of data, and monitoring reporting compliance of Oregon and Columbia River vessel arrivals.

Personnel:

  • Mark Sytsma ( Co. Principal Investigator, Portland State University (PSU), Aquatic Bioinvasion Research and Policy Institute ( ABRPI))
  • Greg Ruiz ( Co. Principal Investigator, SERC, ABRPI)
  • Whitman Miller (Investigator NBIC, SERC, ABRPI)
  • Christina Simkanin (Research Technician, PSU, ABRPI)
  • Karl Klug (Database/Web Designer, Independent Contractor)

Cooperators:

Funding: Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission

Collaborators: SERC and NBIC

Cooperation wit : Oregon Department of Environmental Quality ((ODEQ) Jack Wylie), Merchants Exchange of Portland (PdxMex), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)

Accomplishments/Results:

The pilot project began in January 2005 and continued through June 2007. During this time the project accomplished a number of goals. Specifically, we:

  • developed an online web-based system for viewing electronic ballast water reports submitted to the NBIC in real-time;
  • established data sharing protocols which allow vetted NBIC data to be sent to state/local agencies monthly;
  • demonstrated that local follow-up can increase state reporting compliance and data quality, and may also increase compliance with federal regulations;
  • analyzed and disseminated ballast water management data which increased the understanding of shipping and ballast water patterns nationally and on the U.S. West Coast; 
  • liaised with other West Coast ballast water programs, to continue regional collaboration and maintain congruency; and
  • assisted the Oregon Ballast Water Task Force and drafted a report to the legislature that led to further protection of Oregon’s waterways by amending state statutes and funding a permanent ODEQ position to staff the Oregon program.

Discussion:

The approach and technologies used throughout this pilot project demonstrated that collaboration between the federal and state programs can be mutually beneficial. The protocols and tools developed by this project can be used by other states to increase efficiency in their ballast water management programs through collaboration with the NBIC. By working collaboratively programs can reduce data entry, increase the quantity and quality of data collected, and free resources for the dissemination of results and enforcement. Data created through this collaboration, combined with effective ballast water management, will help create better strategies for reversing the trend of increasing aquatic invasions in recent decades.