The Northeast-Midwest Institute would like to announce
the release of a new report:
Great Ships
for the Great Lakes:
Commercial
Vessels Free Of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway
System
A Scoping
Report for the Great Ships Initiative
The report provides a fact
base, rationale, and preliminary plan for a collective industry-led response to
the problem of ship-mediated introductions of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes. First, the
report details key facets of transoceanic trade on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Seaway system (GLSLSS), including the system’s physical features; fiduciary
players and transaction chains, including the supply chain and transportation
services chain; and the regulatory players, internationally, domestically, and
regionally. It also describes the drivers and contextual conditions that
influence the nature and extent of transoceanic waterborne transportation in
the GLSLSS, i.e., global trade trends and competitors. Second, the report
details the ship-mediated biological pollution problem, the state-of-the-art of
prevention methodology, and policy options for the Great Lakes region.
Third, it describes relevant Environmental Management System models and makes
recommendations regarding a systemwide, industry-sponsored response to the
invasive species problem. This section projects the economic effects and
environmental impact of an industry initiative targeted to resolving problems
of ship-mediated introductions into the GLSLSS. The report’s conclusion
describes the status of a “Great Ships Initiative”, an industry-led initiative
that is emerging from the project, charts the next steps for making the GSI a
reality, and makes caveats for ensuring the efforts’ effectiveness.
The report
is available for download from the Northeast-Midwest Institute's website: http://www.nemw.org/scopingreport.pdf