Tag: ocean-going

State Bans Invaders Where Feds Fail

  • Biologists worry that ships from foreign ports will bring in an even more damaging invasive species called the ‘killer shrimp.’ (Photo by Lester Graham)

One state has a new law in effect to stop ocean-going ships from bringing in foreign pests that can harm the environment.
Rebecca Williams reports neighboring states are watching to see what happens next:

Transcript

One state has a new law in effect to stop ocean-going ships from
bringing in foreign pests that can harm the environment. Rebecca
Williams reports neighboring states are watching to see what happens next:


States are frustrated that the federal government has not stopped pollution
from ballast water.


Michigan is the first state to require all ocean-going ships to have a
ballast water permit to dock at its ports. Shippers can only buy a permit
if they show that they won’t release invasive species into state waters.


Stephanie Showalter directs the National Sea Grant Law Center. She says
it’ll be at least a few months before it’s clear whether the Michigan law
will work.


“Most likely if Michigan’s laws are working and seem easy to implement I’d
suspect the other Great Lakes states would model their legislation very
closely to the Michigan legislation.”


California recently passed its own ballast water law, but it’s not as
restrictive as the Michigan law.


Showalter says the shipping industry could sue Michigan on the grounds that
the law restricts interstate commerce.


For the Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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The Cost of Ending Ocean Shipping on the Great Lakes

For years, many environmentalists have wanted to stop ocean-going ship traffic on the Great Lakes. That’s because vessels traveling from the ocean to the Lakes sometimes carry invasive species. But opponents call the industry a vital part of the economy. A new study paid for by the Joyce Foundation questions how vital that industry really is. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee reports:

Transcript

For years, many environmentalists have wanted to stop ocean-going ship
traffic on the Great Lakes. That’s because vessels traveling from the
ocean to the Lakes sometimes carry invasive species, but opponents call
the industry a vital part of the economy. A new study paid for by the
Joyce Foundation questions how vital that industry really is. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee reports:


The study tackled this question:


How much would it hurt the economy if we end ocean shipping on the
Great Lakes?


The report suggests transportation prices would rise about fifty-five
million dollars per year.


Co-author James Roach says ending ocean ship traffic will cost money,
but keeping it could cost more.


“One has to look at that in terms of, for example, the costs of invasives.
You know, and if that’s 3, 4, or 5 hundred million dollars a year, then
policy makers are gonna have to take that into consideration.”


Independent transportation experts who’ve read the study question some
of its methodology.


For example, it assumes prices for alternatives, such as rail, would
remain constant, but some experts say it’s possible those costs would rise,
making the transition away from ocean shipping more expensive.


For the GLRC, I’m Shawn Allee.


“Host Tag: In the interest of full disclosure, the Joyce Foundation also
provides funding to the GLRC.”

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Luring an Invasive Fish With Pheromones

A scientist has discovered a chemical compound that attracts
an invasive fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson
reports that this could be a breakthrough in controlling harmful fish
populations:

Transcript

A scientist has discovered a chemical compound that attracts an invasive fish. The
Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports that this could be a break through in
controlling
harmful fish populations:


Eurasian ruffe were introduced in the Duluth-Superior harbor from ballast water of
ocean-going
ships in the 1990’s. Ruffe reproduced so quickly, they now make up 80 to
90-percent of the fish
population, squeezing out native fish. Now, they’re spreading eastward across Lake
Superior
toward the lower Great Lakes.


University of Minnesota Fisheries Professor Peter Sorenson says he’s isolated a
pheromone that
will cause the fish to cluster in great numbers of male ruffe who are tricked into
thinking it’s time
to mate.


“It causes a great deal of sexual arousal and excitement. So to help detect this
thing, I suppose
like a dog they get a little crazy and just start swimming around like crazy and
nudging and
inspecting the fish in the tank.”


Once they’re clustered, Sorenson says it may be possible to find a way to cut their
population.
Sorenson hopes to find a similar pheromone in carp and sea lamprey, other invasive
species
which threaten native fish in the Great Lakes.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mike Simonson.

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