ICF, S/IOC/IMO Study Group
23 The Working Group was informed on the outcome of the lust meeting of the ICES/IOC/IMO Study Group on Ballast Water and Sediments, held at La Tremblade, France, in April 1997 (M C 30/INF.25). The Study Group concluded that the meeting provided a unique opportunity to exchange information on research programmers, sampling techniques and the challenges faced by each research group, as well as on directions of new research followed in the various regions. The Study Group inter alia emphasized the need to develop standardized sampling techniques and to co-ordinate the calibration of sampling and analytical methods, as well as identification procedures. In this connection, it was noted that Australia's Center for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) was conducting a worldwide survey of internationally comparative data bases.
24 The Working Group noted that the next meeting of the ICES/IOC/IMO Study Group will be convened in March 1998, probably during the week before the MEPC 41 meeting. It reiterated its recommendation that an expert from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) should participate to provide advice on technical issues.
Informal papers
25 In addition to the above submissions; two studies were informally tabled by the United Kingdom:
.1 Non-native marine species in British Waters: a review and directory; published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, U.K.; and
.2 The final report of a ballast water project carried out by the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, for the Scottish Office for Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department, the Department of Transport and the Scottish Natural Heritage.
26 The study on non-native marine species in British waters was carried out to review information on introductions of marine fauna and flora in Great Britain: fourteen species of marine algae, five diatoms, one angiosperm and thirty invertebrates have been identified. In general, species were found to have only become established if they were introduced from similar latitudes of either hemisphere. More than half of these species axe considered to have been introduced to Britain in association with shipping.
27 The ballast water study mentioned in sub-paragraph 24.2 above has shown that non-indigenous plankton organisms are being transported in ballast water to Scottish ports. The results also indicated that the presence of resting cysts of toxic dinoflagellates was an issue that would need particular attention. The study recommended that future studies should address:
.1 the efficacy of mid-water exchange in regional seas, with a view to refining existing guidelines for coastal and near-continental situations;
.2 the survival rate of organisms in transit; and
.3 detailed taxonomic and genetic studies on potentially harmful phytoplankton.
28 The Working Group thanked the United Kingdom delegation for the abov e informal submissions.
