Great Lakes conservationists want moratorium on oceangoing ships

Great Lakes conservationists want moratorium on oceangoing ships A group of Great Lakes conservationists, along with the Canadian Autoworkers Local 1520, have called for the U.S. and Canadian governments to impose a moratorium on oceangoing vessels entering the Great Lakes until suitable measures are in place to control the entry of aquatic pests in ballast water.
   The group, operating under the banner Great Lakes United, said that since the St. Lawrence Seaway System opened to deep draft shipping in 1959, oceangoing vessels have introduced 65 percent of the aquatic pests to the Great Lakes. These pests include the spiny water flea, round goby, zebra mussel and quagga mussel.
   “The cost to the Great Lakes economy from the zebra and quagga mussel invasions alone is estimated to be $500 million a year over the next five years,” Great Lakes United said in a statement.
   Ballast water has also been linked to recent detections of bloody red mysid and viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) fish viruses. “On average, one new non-native species is detected in the Great Lakes every 28 weeks from all vectors,” the group said.
   If the moratorium is imposed, the group asked that international cargo bound for the Great Lakes region be offloaded before reaching the lakes and transported via Lake vessel, barge, rail or truck. Oceangoing vessels represent 6.8 percent of the shipping done in the St. Lawrence Seaway today.