WHERE: Seaway Port Authority Administration Building
1200 Port Terminal Drive, Duluth, Minnesota
COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS:
Seaway Port Authority of Duluth
Lake Carriers Association
Canadian Shipowners Association
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Great Lakes vessel and port interests have joined together in a landmark effort to control the spread of a non-indigenous species of fish in the Great Lakes. During the 1993 navigation season, U.S., Canadian and salt water ships calling on Duluth/Superior and Thunder Bay have voluntarily agreed to a Ballast Water Management Plan to prevent further diffusion of the Ruffe, a nuisance fish. The effectiveness of the voluntary undertaking will be monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Ballast Water Records will be available for review by the United States or Canadian Coast Guards.
The Ballast Water Management Plan was jointly developed by Lake Carriers Association, Canadian Shipowners Association, the Ports of Duluth/Superior and Thunder Bay, The Shipping Federation of Canada, and the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association in cooperation with the Service and the Ruffe Control Committee, an inter-agency group convened by the U.S. Government.
Service officials have praised the Ballast Water Management Plan. "Lake Carriers Association is the first maritime association in North America to propose a voluntary ballast water management strategy," said Gary B. Edwards, Assistant Director of the Service. "We commend the Great Lakes shipping industry for its leadership on the initiative. Ballast water transport of non-indigenous species is a serious problem worldwide." "This plan is on the cutting edge of ballast water management to prevent the spread of nuisance species," said Thomas R. Busiahn of the Service, Chairman of the Ruffe Control Committee.
When not carrying cargo, vessels must fill their ballast tanks with water to maintain stability. Under the terms of the plan, vessel Captains have been instructed by their owners to refrain from taking any ballast water from Duluth/Superior during a 4-month period (May 15 - September 15). During these months, young Ruffe are small enough to pass through screens fitted on ballast line intakes. Vessels not fitted with screens have been directed to take no ballast from Duluth/Superior at any time during the year.
If for reasons of stability or trim, some water must be taken onboard, then the Captains have been instructed to exchange this water with clean Lake Superior water while west of a Ballast Demarcation Line between Ontonagon, Michigan, and Grand Portage, Minnesota. Evidence of Ruffe colonization was found in Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1991, so precautions will also be taken in that harbor. Captains of vessels leaving Thunder Bay must exchange the ballast in western Lake Superior -- but only in waters at least 240-feet deep and 15 miles from shore. It is expected that any Ruffe exchanged in deep waters that distance from shore will be unable to feed or colonize.
Speaking for the owners of U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessels, George J. Ryan, president of Lake Carriers Association, expressed pleasure with the scope of acceptance for the Ballast Water Management Plan. "We recognize that we have a responsibility to operate our ships in an environmentally-sound manner and have voluntarily developed this plan. We believe our coalition will be able to ensure that vessels of all flags will participate and thus stem, to the degree possible, further spread of the ruffe in Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes and rivers."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
