Terms of Reference

Risk Assessment of Alternate Ballast Water Exchange Zones for vessel traffic to the Eastern Canadian Arctic

Regional Peer Review – Central and Arctic Region

November 20-21, 2013
Winnipeg, MB

Chairperson: Margaret Treble

Context

Transport Canada Marine Safety (TCMS) is tasked with managing a regulatory program to set ships' procedures to reduce the risk of ship-mediated transfer of invasive species.  TCMS has requested scientifically defensible advice as the basis for national ballast water regulations regarding Alternate Ballast Water Exchange Zones (ABWEZs) for ships in ballast destined for ports in waters of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Under current regulations, ABWEZs have been designated in the Hudson Strait and Lancaster Sound regions of the eastern Canadian Arctic for foreign vessels travelling to the Port of Churchill or the Northwest Passage, respectively, in the event that foreign vessels bound for Arctic ports need to conduct emergency ballast water exchange within the Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Hudson Strait receives the largest volume of shipping activity in the eastern Canadian Arctic. This ABWEZ was assessed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in 2009. Several recommendations resulted from this assessment including the need to assess a broader geographic area to the east of Hudson Strait, including the Labrador Sea, and incorporate oceanographic modeling of dispersion patterns. The Lancaster Sound ABWEZ was not considered in the 2009 review.

DFO responded to these recommendations by developing a working paper that evaluates the relative risks of ballast exchange along major shipping routes within the eastern Canadian Arctic, including both the Hudson Strait and Lancaster Sound ABWEZs. This assessment is based on oceanographic modeling of particle dispersion in relation to climate and depth, together with the identification of areas of ecological, economic and/or cultural significance. TCMS will consider the results of this assessment to determine whether and how a regulatory program needs to be modified to reduce the risk of ship-mediated transfer of invasive species in the eastern Canadian Arctic.

Objectives

The objective of this meeting is to peer review the working paper and to provide advice on alternative ballast water exchange sites in the eastern Canadian Arctic by…

• evaluating the risks that the identified zones may pose to fisheries resources and to the marine ecosystem; and
• identifying and rationalizing other zones that may pose a lower risk to fisheries resources and to the marine ecosystem.

Invited participants will receive copies of the working paper along with relevant published background documents by November 11, 2013.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science, and Ecosystems and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Transport Canada, Environment Canada, Parks Canada Agency
• Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and Makivik Inc.
• Academia
• Industry (Shipping Industry)
• Other invited experts