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McDowell, K.H. and J. Cassell, 2001. Ballast Water Education and Management on the West Coast of the United States, California Sea Grant Extension Program/SFEP. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions, New Orleans, La., April 9-11, 2001, p. 98. Ballast Water Education and Management on the West Coast of the United StatesThe California Sea Grant Extension Program started the West Coast Ballast Outreach Project in February 1999. This project is funded by the National Sea Grant College Program and the Cal-Fed Bay Delta Program. Since the program's inception, various regulations that require specific ballast water management protocols, ranging from the federal to the state level, have been passed. This project has worked together with the maritime industry, regulators, and researchers over the past two years to educate the various groups on the recent developments and to coordinate management efforts along the west coast. The West Coast Ballast Outreach Project has sponsored a series of workshops, produced a biannual newsletter, developed a web site, and produced a poster and brochure to distribute information about the latest developments in ballast water management and information on the impacts of aquatic nuisance species. The ballast water forums were held at various locations along the west coast, and were well attended by regulators and maritime industry representatives. The three volumes of the newsletter, "Ballast Exchange," included updates on the various regulatory and research programs. The web site includes information about the project, general information on ballast water and aquatic nuisance species, and links to various ballast water and aquatic nuisance species web sites. The poster and brochure, "Stop Ballast Water Invasions," contain general information about ballast water regulations and aquatic nuisances species. These documents have been widely distributed to regulators and the maritime industry. In addition to our educational efforts, the West Coast Ballast Outreach Project has been actively involved with several working groups: the Pacific Ballast Water Group, the Pacific Ballast Water Pilot Project, and the Ballast Outreach Advisory Team. The Pacific Ballast Water Group, established in 1998, is as ad-hoc group made up of various stakeholders, to coordinate ballast water management activities along the west coast. The Pacific Ballast Water Pilot Project, established in 2000, is working to develop ballast water treatment standards and to test various ballast water treatment systems. The Ballast Outreach Advisory Team is made up of members representing the maritime industry, regulatory agencies, and environmental groups. We have worked closely with this team throughout this project to insure that we are providing the proper educational information needed for these groups to implement and comply with the various ballast water regulations. As a result of these cooperative efforts, awareness of the impacts of aquatic nuisance species and compliance with the various new ballast water regulations has increased along the west coast. Contact: Karen Hart McDowell, California Sea Grant Extension Program/SFEP,
1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400, Oakland, CA 94612, USA |