Terms of Reference

The risks to Canada by moving unmanaged ballast water from Canada to the United States within the Great Lakes

Regional Science Response Process – Central and Arctic Region

June 19, 2019
Teleconference/WebEx or Burlington, ON

Chairperson: Marten Koops

Context

Ballast water is important for the safety and stability of vessels, but it can also introduce potentially invasive species (e.g., zebra mussels) into receiving waters. In 2010, Canada acceded to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (2004). The purpose of the Convention is to prevent the spread of invasive species from one region to another by standards and procedures for the management and control of ballast water. The Convention requires that international, domestic and Great Lakes ships comply with its provisions, which include that ballast water be managed to reduce the risk of invasive species. Transport Canada is proposing new ballast water regulations to give effect to this Convention in Canada.

Current science expertise indicates that applying the proposed regulations to all ships using ballast water will have the most effective contribution to reducing the risk of aquatic invasive species. However, in developing the proposed regulations, questions were raised about the risks posed by Great Lakes ships loading ballast water in Canada and releasing it unmanaged into waters under U.S. jurisdiction.

In light of this and to ensure the proposed regulations provide appropriate protection for the environment, Transport Canada is seeking DFO science advice on the risks to Canada posed by Great Lakes ballast water first loaded in Canada and then released into the U.S. without being managed.

Objective

To provide Transport Canada with an assessment of the risks posed by moving unmanaged ballast water from Canada to the United States within the Great Lakes.

Expected Publications

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science)
• Academia