A ship shown emptying its ballast tanks. (Photo courtesy of the United States Geological Survey)
Invasive species like the zebra mussel
have spread into lakes and rivers across
the country. But scientists are cautiously
optimistic they’re on the right track
to closing the front door to new invaders.
David Sommerstein reports:
Transcript
Invasive species like the zebra mussel
have spread into lakes and rivers across
the country. But scientists are cautiously
optimistic they’re on the right track
to closing the front door to new invaders.
David Sommerstein reports:
Most invasive species have snuck into American waters by hitchhiking in the ballast water of foreign ships. They cause billions of dollars of damage to economies and ecosystems.
Researcher David Reid keeps the official list of invasive species in the Great Lakes. He’s with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He says a new invader hasn’t been found there since 2006, a period of three years.
“The last time that occurred in our records was in the 1950s.”
Reid has his fingers crossed.
A new rule requires ships to flush their ballast out in the ocean before entering American waters. Reid says it seems to be working.
“We’ve found that saltwater is really quite effective against most of types of organisms that are likely to survive fresh water.”
The invasive species problem is far from over. Researchers are testing out technology to kill critters that can live in saltwater, too.
For The Environment Report, I’m David Sommerstein.