U.S.-flag Great Lakes carriers help prevent spread of deadly fish virus

U.S.-flag Great Lakes carriers help prevent spread of deadly fish virus The Lake Carriers’ Association, an industry group representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes, has introduced a ballast water management plan designed to help prevent the spread of a deadly fish virus throughout the region.
   The virus, known as viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), can cause large scale fish mortality in a short period. It resulted in a large fish kill in Lake St. Clair in 2003, followed by a similar event in Lake Ontario in the spring of 2005. The disease does not affect humans.
   “While our members’ vessels don’t trade farther east than Bath, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, and so have never introduced an exotic to the enclosed aquatic ecosystem, we recognize our role in assisting the governments of the United States and Canada in controlling the spread of invasive species brought to the lakes by vessels entering from the oceans and other vectors such as aquaculture, bait fish and recreational boating and fishing,” said James H.I. Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, in a statement.
   To date, VHS is not known to be introduced to Lakes Michigan and Superior.
   The steps to be taken by the Lakes Carriers’ Association members, starting this month, include annual inspection and, if necessary, replacement of ballast sea chest screens with the smallest openings allowed by engineering practices.
   Also, when it’s necessary to take ballast in waters thought to harbor VHS, the vessel will first be lightened as much as safe operation permits to minimize sediment uptake and increase water flow. “Should a fish make it past the screen, it will be pulverized by the high speed, high pressure, and tight tolerance pumps,” the association said.
   The Lake Carriers’ Association’s VHS plan has been endorsed by the Shipping Federation of Canada, which represents shipowners and agents involved in Canada’s overseas trade, and the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, which represents U.S. vessel agents for ocean-going vessels calling at U.S. Great Lakes ports.
   The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 18 American companies that operate 63 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.