Representatives from 18 contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention last month discussed a Mediterranean strategy aimed at addressing the alien species issue, and agreed on a set of eight priorities, aiming at achieving a regional harmonised approach in the Mediterranean on ships’ ballast water control and management.

In addition, countries also supported a proposal regarding voluntary interim arrangements on ships’ ballast water exchange in the Mediterranean as indicated by the International Convention for the Control and management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments.

The Istanbul meeting was attended by delegations from, among others, Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, the European Community, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia and Turkey.

They agreed upon eight strategic priorities to efficiently address the issue of ships’ ballast water and invasive species in the Mediterranean as well as on measures to be taken at national, sub-regional or regional level to put into effect these strategic priorities.

“The Mediterranean Sea is a world’s major shipping area with more than 300,000 port calls per annum and more than 10,000 ships transiting this busy highway every year. Ballast water discharged by ships can have a negative impact on the marine environment,” said Fréderic Hébert, Director of REMPEC – the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea of UNEP/MAP.

“Large tankers and bulk cargo carriers, commonly operating in the Mediterranean, use a large amount of ballast water, which is often taken on in the coastal waters in one region after ships discharge wastewater or unload cargo, and discharged at the next port of call, wherever more cargo is loaded”.

There are hundreds of organisms carried in ballast water, including plants, animals, viruses and bacteria. These materials often include non-native exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to the aquatic ecosystem – generally referred to as alien or invasive species.

Invasive alien species have serious economic, environmental and human health impacts and are now recognised as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity globally. In marine and coastal environments, invasive species have been identified as one of the four greatest threats to the world’s oceans.

In particular, they can have economic impacts on fisheries by smothering or killing fish and other species, tourism (jellyfish), destruction of facilities, settling on buoys, vessels and ropes, aquaculture harvests. They also have negative impacts on the ecosystem, competing with Mediterranean native species for food and space and modifying the habitat.

Others can also have health impacts due to their toxicity, like the micro-algae Alexandrium acatenella responsible for creating “red tides”, which is a species known for producing paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins. The toxins can affect humans, other mammals, fish and birds. It is responsible for numerous human illnesses and several deaths after consumption of infected shellfish.

“Ships’ ballast water is of particular concern as a vector of introduction of invasive alien species in the Mediterranean”, said Maria Luisa Silva, officer-in-charge of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan. “Research shows that the Mediterranean marine ecosystem and resources have been and continue to be severely compromised by invasive species, and remain at high risk of further invasion as maritime traffic escalates. Scientists estimate the rate of biological invasions in the Mediterranean to be one new species entry every nine days.”

The countries’ delegations considered that as the Convention is not yet in force, such voluntary measures were called for to activate actions and address the problem in the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, the delegations unanimously agreed that a notification of these voluntary interim arrangements be sent to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) prior to the forthcoming meeting of the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention, which is foreseen for November 2011. The countries’ representatives therefore requested REMPEC to facilitate this matter by officially liaising with the contracting parties of the Barcelona Convention.