Protecting our waters from invasive species

The last couple of months I have been working parttime as an analist in the ballwast water treatment facility of Control Union. I was mainly looking into the bacterial community in marine and fresh water, working side by side with Zana Kulbieda and many others of the ballast water team.

Ships transport their cargo, crossing oceans and rivers, locking and loading in docks all over the world. By pumping or releasing surface water in their ballast tanks, they optimize the stability of the ship. However, this surface water can contain organisms, for example bacteria, larvae and plankton, which can be, unintentionally, transported to new areas. These invasive species can shift in the ecosystem. In worst cases, non-indigenous organisms developing into a plague and take over the native species. 

Therefore, systems that remove organisms from the ballast water are important to avoid these kind of ecological catastrophes. For more information see: www.nioz.nl/en/valorisation/ballast-water