http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/28b6bd62-5433-4fad-b5a1-8ac61eb671b1/ FAO Second International Technical Seminar/Workshop on Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) There is a way forward! FAO Technical Cooperation Programme: TCP/INT/3501 and TCP/INT/3502.

1. Aquaculture biosecurity
challenges in the light of
the Ballast Water
Management Convention
Guillaume Drillet
gdr@dhigroup.com / guillaumedrillet@yahoo.com

2. Who takes care of
transporting our fish
products?
Global Shipping Routes Global Seafood Trade
Stratfor.com (2012) Rabobank 2015

3. The importance of shipping in transferring
species and pathogens
Major routes representing the risk of
bio-invasions due to shipping
Seebens, 2013 (Ecology Letters)
25 June, 2016© DHI #3
Is Ballast Water a major dispersal mechanism for marine
organisms? Gollasch 2007 (Ecological Studies, 193)

4. Ballast Water Cycle
Ballast water is thus recognised as one of the
principal vectors of potentially invasive alien
species, and is estimated to be responsible for
the transfer of between 7,000 and 10,000
different species of marine microbes, plants
and animals globally each day (Carlton, 1999)
http://lms.seos-project.eu
Large ship may pump in 10 to 20,000 m3 of water
per hour (bulk carriers, Globallast 2016) : 1-3
shrimp pond per hour !

5. Status of the BWM convention
© DHI
• 12 years
• 51 countries have ratified (require 30 to enter into force) (St Lucia and Peru in
May and June 2016)
• > 34.8% of the world merchant GT (require 35% to
enter into force)
The entry into force is
imminent !

6. Regulation D-2 of the BWM convention, the discharge standard, stipulates:
A ship that treats ballast water shall have less than the following concentrations (at discharge):
– (a) 10 viable org.m-3 >50 μm;
– (b) 10 viable org.mL-1 between 10 and 50 μm
– (c) one cfu of Vibrio cholerae per 100 mL or one cfu per 1 g (wet weight) zooplankton
– (d) 250 cfu of Escherichia coli per 100 mL; and
– (e) 100 cfu of intestinal Enterococci per 100 mL.
Regulation D-1 of the BWM convention:
Ships performing Ballast Water exchange in accordance with this regulation shall do so with an
efficiency of at least 95 percent volumetric exchange of Ballast Water.
A few important regulations of the BWMC:
Regulation C-2 Warnings Concerning Ballast Water Uptake:
A Party shall endeavour to notify mariners of areas under their jurisdiction where ships should not
uptake Ballast Water due to known conditions. (waters known to contain outbreaks, infestations, or
populations of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens (e.g., toxic algal blooms) which are likely to
be of relevance to Ballast Water uptake or discharge; near sewage outfalls; or where tidal flushing is
poor or times during which a tidal stream is known to be more turbid.

7. Type Approval process to ensure a high reliability
of the Ballast Water Management Systems
G9
G8
BWMS are tested flowing stringent guidelines from the IMO as well as from the US Coast Guards :
These type approved systems do kill most of the organisms that they are supposed to kill !

8. Comparability in the testing of BWMS

9. Should we be vigilant in terms of the potential
effects of shipping on bio-security?
• All ships not included in the convention (warships, Ships travelling in the jurisdiction of one single
party/country)
• Exemption may be granted in areas for ships travelling between ports where a low risk has been assessed
• TA certificates are granted under the G8 guidelines which are under revision
• Treatments against pathogens and organisms less than 10µm is in general under evaluated
YES

10. Managing risks of invasions under the ballast water
convention, the G7 guidelines for exemption
• Quite a few Member States are concerned about the risk of bio-invasions as well as the risk
of transfer of pathogens and harmful organisms across water bodies if ships are given
exemption (mainly countries with large oyster aquaculture)
• Enforcement of stringent ballast water regulations across international boarders will
become mandatory but domestic regimes will not necessarily be enforced and protect our
aquaculture industry
• This has led to a proposition to approach the exemption
procedure as a “Same Risk Area” (MEPC 69/INF.25;
Denmark and Interferry)

11. Evaluating the risk of spread of species
• The procedure to get an exemption includes a risk assessment under the G7 guidelines.
However, G7 guidelines do not impose an evaluation of the hydrodynamic connectivity
between ports.
• We know that species introduced spread “naturally” at a rate of approximately 50km per
year (Steingraeber and Thiel, 2000; Bradbury et al. 2008; Azour et al., 2015)
• Can we evaluate the probability that a particular species spreads over time across water
bodies?
• What kind of tools exist to work this out ?
Ex: the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project supported a
Cluster analysis of 43 coral reef sites to evaluate similarity in
biodiversity. To support the study, a hydrodynamic modelling
of the South China Sea marine basin was developed

12. A few examples of modelling capabilities which
can be already be used to deal with bio-security
Teacher Students
Knowledge
Teacher Students
Knowledge
# Coffee(s) # Pauses # Hours
# / Quality
Acquisition speed?
# / Quality / place in the room
Initial state? Initial state?
# Fiesta

13. Urban models
Marine
models
• Lakes
• Reservoirs
• Rivers
• Groundwater
• Sewers
• Water supply
• Treatment
• Fjords
• Straits
• Oceans
DHI’s suite of Software (MIKE)
- Developed through the last 40 years
Water resources models

14. MIKE 21/3 flow Models HD FM
2D and 3D hydrodynamic modelling using flexible mesh

15. MIKE 21/3 EcoLab module
(Ecological processes)

16. MIKE 21/3 Agent Based module
(Dispersal processes of coral larvae in Singapore)

17. Development of friendly user platforms for
decision makers
Setup the parameters Run the Model Extract the results

18. Learn and play – Serious games for training
managers

19. Questions ?
Dr Guillaume Drillet
gdr@dhigroup.com / guillaumedrillet@yahoo.com
Head of Section, Ecological Processes and Aquaculture DHI group Singapore
President-Elect of the World Aquaculture Society, Asia Pacific Chapter 2016---
Chairman of the Global TestNet 2016-2017