Treat ballast water before release

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

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Background information and definitions

Ballasting is the process by which sea water (ballast water) is taken out of the ship when at port or at sea. Ballast water can contain species from other locations taken up during water intake, which are then accidentally released in a new environment during de-ballasting (water release). Ballast water is one of the major processes of introduction of invasive or problematic species, including those that form harmful algal blooms (Barry et al. 2008, Molnar et al. 2008). Treating ballast water before release may reduce the risk of accidentally introducing invasive and problematic species. This may involve using filters, oxidizing or disinfecting chemicals, or ultraviolet radiation. However, some treatments may have toxic effects (Werschkun et al. 2014).

Barry S.C., Hayes K.R., Hewitt C.L., Behrens H.L., Dragsund E. & Bakke S.M. (2008) Ballast water risk assessment: principles, processes, and methods. Ices Journal of Marine Science, 65, 121–131.

Molnar J.L., Gamboa R.L., Revenga C. & Spalding M.D. (2008) Assessing the global threat of invasive species to marine biodiversity. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6, 485–492.

Werschkun B., Banerji S., Basurko O.C., David M., Fuhr F., Gollasch S., Grummt T., Haarich M., Jha A.N., Kacan S., Kehrer A., Linders J., Mesbahi E., Pughiuc D., Richardson S.D., Schwarz-Schulz B., Shah A., Theobald N., von Gunten U., Wieck S. & Höfer T. (2014) Emerging risks from ballast water treatment: The run-up to the International Ballast Water Management Convention. Chemosphere, 112, 256–266.

Key messages

We found no studies that evaluated the effects of treating ballast water before release, on marine and freshwater mammal populations.

‘We found no studies’ means that we have not yet found any studies that have directly evaluated this action during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore we have been unable to assess whether or not the action is effective or has any harmful impacts. Please get in touch if you know of such a study for this action.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Berthinussen, A., Smith, R.K. and Sutherland, W.J. (2021) Marine and Freshwater Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions. Conservation Evidence Series Synopses. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Marine and Freshwater Mammal Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Treat ballast water before release Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Use biocides or other chemicals to control invasive or problematic species Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Limit, cease or prohibit ballast water exchange in specific areas Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link