CHAPTER NINE PREVENTION OF FURTHER EXOTIC MARINE ORGANISM INTRODUCTIONS INTO VICTORIA

In Term of Reference (a) the Committee is asked to make recommendations on the management of ballast water in Victoria. In Term of Reference (e) the Committee is required to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of State based measures to minimise environmental impact of ballast water without adversely impacting on Victoria's international competitiveness. The Committee is asked in Term of Reference (f) to make recommendations on how different interests, including ports, the shipping industry and bodies responsible for coastal management, quarantine, fisheries and the environment, can cooperate effectively to develop an integrated approach to economically and environmentally sustainable management of ballast water. By focusing on the prevention of further exotic marine organism introductions into Victoria, the Committee addresses these three Terms of Reference simultaneously. The management of exotic organisms once they have become established in Victorian coastal waters is discussed in Chapter 10.

The Committee recognises that the issues to be addressed in the development of a system to manage the incursion of exotic marine organisms through ships' ballast water are extremely difficult. The technical difficulties of detection and incursion control are compounded by problems arising from the nature of the shipping industry and of international conventions regarding its operations. As a result, enforcement and deterrence issues are far more complicated than might otherwise be expected.

These primary difficulties are further complicated by the fact that ballast water control is only now emerging as an environmental imperative for the protection of marine habitats and the conservation of biodiversity. Responses are still being developed and issues such as jurisdiction, responsible authorities, and international cooperation are far from settled.