Coast Guard takes the next STEP

The Coast Guard has prepared draft environmental assessments (DEAs) for three applicants seeking to participate in the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP): Princess Cruise Lines' Coral Princess, Atlantic Container Lines' Atlantic Compass and Matson Shipping's Moku Pahu. In Federal Register notices (73FR 18544-18546) published April 4, 2008, the Coast Guard requests comment on the environmental impacts of testing these ballast water treatment systems on board ships.

The notices can be found at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-6988.pdf. DEAs can be found here. Comments and related materials must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before June 3, 2008. Additional information on the Coast Guard's ballast water program and the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program application package is available at: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mso/mso4/bwm/step.htm. If you have questions on the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) , please contact LCDR Brian Moore, telephone 202-372-1434 or e-mail: brian.e.moore@uscg.mil.

California AIS Management Plan Released

This plan proposes management actions for addressing aquatic invasive species (AIS) threats to the State of California. It focuses on the non-native algae, crabs, clams, fish, plants and other species that continue to invade California’s creeks, wetlands, rivers, bays and coastal waters.

State surveys indicate that at least 607species of aquatic invaders can be found in California’s estuarine waters. These invaders cause major impacts: disrupting agriculture, shipping, water delivery, recreational and commercial fishing; undermining levees, docks and environmental restoration activities; impeding navigation and enjoyment of the state’s waterways; and damaging native habitats and the species that depend on them. As the ease of transporting organisms across the Americas and around the globe has increased, so has the rate of AIS introductions.

View the plan here.

Ropme Sea Area declared "special zone"

Read the full article here.

Water Rate Hike due to Inasive Mussels

Southern California's largest water supplier is set to raise rates to offset higher electrical bills, protect endangered fish and pay for cleanup associated with an invasive mussel. Board members of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District are expected to approve what amounts to a 14.3 percent increase for its water in March, officials said.

Read complete article here.

NY Times Article on AIS Impacts

The NY Times has competed an article about the extent of human impact on the oceans, and aquatic invasive species are listed as a primary threat.

Map showing distribution of AIS impacts

Article on AIS impacts

This article was written using the following sources:

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis's "A Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems" and Halpern, B.S., et al. 2008. A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems. Science 319, 948.

New report on AIS threat to global marine biodiversity

Some 84 per cent of the world's marine ecosystems have been infected by invasive species - and this number could be even higher due to under-reporting, according to a new study from the Nature Conservancy. Although invasive species are widely recognized as a major threat to marine biodiversity, there has been no quantitative global assessment of their impacts and routes of introduction. The report gives initial results from the first such global assessment. Drawing from over 350 databases and other sources, it synthesizes information on 329 marine invasive species, including their distribution, impacts on biodiversity, and introduction pathways. Initial analyses show that only 16% of marine ecoregions have no reported marine invasions, and even that figure may be inflated due to under-reporting. International shipping, followed by aquaculture, represent the major means of introduction. The geographically referenced and publicly available database provides a framework that can be used to highlight the invasive taxa that are most threatening, as well as to prioritize the invasion pathways that pose the greatest threat.

Get the paper here.

Coast Guard releases latest newsletter

The Coast Guard's Environmental Standards Division has published the Winter 2008 edition of its "Environmental Standards Update" newsletter. An archive of the current and past editions is also available on the USCG website at: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mso/esn.htm