Mediterranean countries want to control ballast water

Mediterranean countries have agreed on measures to control the discharge of ballast water, used to stabilise large ships when they are carrying light loads, a practice that has a negative effect on marine ecosystems.

Eighteen signatories to the Barcelona Convention agreed on eight strategic priorities to address the risks caused by ballast water during a recent meeting in Istanbul.

Ballast water contains hundreds of organisms, including plants, animals, viruses and bacteria, and is released by ships when they arrive at a given port and no longer need it on board. It often includes non-native, nuisance, exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to an aquatic ecosystem.

Such species pose serious economic, environmental and human health problems and are considered one of the four greatest threats to the world's oceans.

"The Mediterranean Sea is a major world shipping area, with more than 300,000 port calls per annum and over 10,000 ships transiting this busy highway every year. Ballast water discharged by ships can have a negative impact on the marine environment," said Fréderic Hébert, director of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, within the UN Environment Programme.

During the meeting, a set of priorities was discussed aimed at achieving a harmonised approach to negate the effects of ballast water discharge.

The signatories also supported a proposal for temporary arrangements to control the problem, as indicated by the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments.

Maria Luisa Silva, officer in charge of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan, said research showed the Mediterranean marine ecosystem had and continued to be severely compromised by invasive species and remained at high risk of further invasion as maritime traffic escalated.

Scientists estimated the rate of biological invasions in the Mediterranean to be one new species entry every nine days, she said.

The countries will meet in November 2011 to make concrete and binding proposals to tackle the issue under the Barcelona Convention, a regional agreement to prevent pollution from ships, aircraft and land-based sources in the Mediterranean.