PSU Magazine Winter 2004

have ships dump their harbor ballast water mid-ocean and take on new ballast water from the high seas. The higher salt content of the mid-ocean water kills most harbor plants and creatures. Once in port, the lower salt content of the harbor kills most mid– ocean creatures and plants. lt's so simple, in fact, that the U.S. Coast Guard requests ship captains to do just that. Unfortunately, the request is voluntary, and there's currently no reliable way to determine whether ships are complying. Oregon law requires all ocean-going vessels to exchange ballast water before entering state waters. But a reliable test is needed to ensure compliance. To develop that test, PSU graduate student Monaca Noble and a researcher from the Smithsonian Envi– ronmental Research Center Marine Invasion Research Laboratory have made two transoceanic voyages aboard shipping vessels. Along the way, they took hundreds of samples of sea water to determine its exact makeup in different locations. They plan two more trips to compile enough data for a definitive test. Another issue is that of boats that hug the coast rather than crossing the ocean. The Coast Guard ballast water exchange program applies only to oceangoing ships. ln response, some states have adopted their own require– ments. Based on research conducted by PSU's center, the Oregon Legislature passed a law two years ago requiring shipping vessels scooting along the Pacific Coast and headed for Oregon ports to exchange ballast water before reaching Port Mendocino to the south or the farthest tip of Vancouver Island to the north. But there are critical exceptions. The law does not apply to ships from Washington state or Vancouver, B.C. Nor does it require ships to be in the more effective, saltier waters that exist 20 to 50 miles offshore. Washington state has its own, different, regulations. And until early 2004, California had no regulations at all. From a scientific point of view, these differing regulations result in dif– fering effectiveness. From the shipping industry's point of view, the differing state regulations along the West Coast are confusing. "What'.s a ship coming into the Co lumbia River supposed to do," asks Sytsma. "Follow Oregon or Washing– ton regulations7" In response to the array of regula– tions along the coast, Sytsma and regu– latory and industry representatives from the three states formed the regionally focused Pacific Ballast Water Group. They are working to develop a coordinated approach for ballast water exchange that will apply to Oregon, Washington, and California. Progress will come none too soon. Already authorities in Washington state have discovered several recreational boats being hauled into the state from the Great Lakes region to be carrying beautiful, but dangerous, hitchhik– ers- tiny zebra mussels. D