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SAFETY4SEA

Methods for spotting alien species in Baltic ports

by The Editorial Team
July 16, 2014
in Ballast
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HELCOM has released a report on alien species transported via ships’ ballast water that threaten the sensitive Baltic ecosystem and may also have negative impacts to the economy and human health.

The report is the final outcome of HELCOM ALIENS 3 project (2012-2013) which further tested and proposed improvements to the joint HELCOM-OSPAR sampling protocol, specifying methods and means for spotting marine alien species in ports. The project has also updated the related online port survey database and risk assessment tool, shared with the North-East Atlantic marine environment protection commission OSPAR, which went live last week.


The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM convention) specifies a number of measures in order to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens through the control and management of ships‘ Ballast Water and Sediments.

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Biodiversity and the marine environment

However, under certain low risk conditions, the BWM convention Regulation A-4 enables a party to grant exemptions to any requirements to apply ballast water management for ships (regulation B-3) or additional measures (regulation C-1). Whether or not a specific case can be defined as falling under such low risk conditions requires a risk assessment. The overall framework related to these risk assessments is specified in G7 Guidelines for risk assessment under regulation A-4 of the BWM convention (IMO, 2007).

To provide the needed regional detail and ensure effective and harmonized regional implementation of the IMO BWM convention in the Baltic Sea, a regional guidance on such risk assessments for A-4 exemptions in the Baltic Sea was agreed in 2010 within HELCOM by the Baltic Sea coastal states and the EU (HELCOM, 2010).

Based on the 2010 guidance and other work the two commissions, HELCOM and OSPAR, agreed in October 2013 on more comprehensive, quantitative and detailed joint harmonized procedure on A-4 exemptions for the combined HELCOM and OSPAR marine area (HELCOM, 2013a).

As the first step in applying the joint harmonized procedure the applicant for an A-4 exemption should carry out alien species sampling in ports according to the agreed sampling procedure in order to enable a knowledge-based risk assessment. Alternatively the applicant should get access to the results of such surveys done by others. This information should cover each stopover port on the route for which the exemption is applied.

As the second step the applicant should submit the port survey data to a joint regional HELCOM-OSPAR database, established with the joint guidelines, and run the joint online risk assessment model on the data. The agreed risk assessment is based on matching the lists of species found in the stopover ports, a risk assessment algorithm and an agreed list of target species included in the joint guidelines and the tolerances of target species to environmental parameters.

Accordingly, the joint harmonized A-4 procedure includes besides a quantitative risk assessment model, a port sampling protocol to ensure comparability of data, a list of target species, an online decision support tool as well as common administrative procedures.

The HELCOM ALIENS 3 project

The overall aim of the project HELCOM ALIENS 3 (2013-2014)1 was to provide HELCOM Contracting Parties with a possibility to gather further experience with, and provide improvements to, the implementation of the joint harmonized A-4 procedure.

It was a follow-up project of the HELCOM ALIENS 2 (HELCOM, 2013b) which developed many of the approaches underlying the joint harmonized A-4 procedure.

The project started its work during January 2013, and finalised in February 2014. The project was funded by special contributions by Finland and Sweden and by in kind contributions of the HELCOM Secretariat (facilities, working time and travel expenses).

The tasks developed within the project:
  • Carrying out pilot port surveys, in the ports of Gothenburg (SWE), Kokkola (FIN), Hamina/Kotka (FIN) and Sköldvik (FIN), trying to cover a broad variety of size, uses and habitats, in order to further develop the port sampling protocol included in the Joint Harmonized A-4 Procedure;
  • Further developing the online decision support tool, created within HELCOM ALIENS 2 project. The decision support tool and the integrated port survey database with target species lists was tested and developed to an operational regional system possibly to be administered by HELCOM and OSPAR Secretariats;
  • Drafting of the Joint Harmonized A-4 Procedure document on behalf of the HELCOM Secretariat during spring 2013;
  • Providing general support to the HELCOM-OSPAR TG BALLAST;
  • Elaboration of dissemination material, on the importance of alien species and their introduction in the Baltic aquatic ecosystem via ballast water;
  • Organization of workshops, for following up the activities to be developed within the project.

Overall Results of Port Surveys and improvement suggestions

In order to evaluate if exemptions from BWM can be granted, reliable risk assessments between the ports are a prerequisite. On the other hand, risk assessments rely heavily on available information of the port characteristics as well as species assemblages in the ports.

While testing the Guidance to distinguish between unacceptable high risk scenarios and acceptable low risk scenarios – a risk of spreading of alien species by ships on intra-Baltic voyages in the project “Pilot risk assessments of alien species transfer on intra-Baltic ship voyages”, Gollasch et al. (2011) noted that such information was largely lacking from the Baltic ports.

Ports-currently-surveyed-in-the-Baltic-Sea

Ports currently surveyed in the Baltic Sea area. Ports labelled with pink were surveyed within HELCOM ALIENS projects.

As a result, HELCOM MARITIME (2011) identified the need for creating a harmonized sampling protocol for gathering information in the ports as required by risk assessments. Such a HELCOM Port Survey Protocol was developed and tested within the HELCOM ALIENS 2 project (2013b).

Prior to 2012 and the HELCOM ALIENS 2 and 3 projects only Estonia had frequent monitoring of non-indigenous species in the vicinity of the ports and there was no monitoring inside the actual port area. In addition, some individual port surveys and long term projects have been conducted in Poland (e.g. Walk et al. 2011), Lithuania, Germany (Buschbaum et al. 2010) and Finland (Paavola et al. 2008).

Source and Image Credit: HELCOM

 

For more information please read the report by clicking below:

HELCOM-ALIENS-3-report

 

In the starting, I was frank with you propecia before and after has changed my being. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is incredible to sit.

Methods for spotting alien species in Baltic portsMethods for spotting alien species in Baltic ports
Methods for spotting alien species in Baltic portsMethods for spotting alien species in Baltic ports
Tags: BWM Conventioninvasive speciesmarine environmentsewage
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