## GREAT LAKES MARITIME INDUSTRY GREAT LAKES MARITIME INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN (BMP) VOLUNTARY BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN (BMP)

FOR THE CONTROL OF VIRAL HEMORR FOR THE CONTROL OF VIRAL HEMORRH H AGIC SEPTICEMIA (VHS) VIRUS AGIC SEPTICEMIA (VHS) VIRUS AGIC SEPTICEMIA (VHS) VIRUS

2007 EDITION 2007 EDITION

(Issued March 2007)

Owners and operators of vessels sailing exclusively within the Enclosed Aquatic Ecosystem of the Great Lakes recognize their role in assisting the governments of the United States and Canada in controlling the spre ad of invasive species. This BMP, specifically for the VHS virus, is in addition to general voluntary management practices for aquatic nuisance species. Vessels must use ballast water for safety purposes to provide adequate stability, tri m, propulsion, maneuverability, and hull stress management. Recogni zing these constraints, the marine industry will do ev erything within its power, consistent with safety and stabilit y, to decrease the potential of moving fish from affe cted areas (Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St . Lawrence River, and the Canadian Maritime Provinces) to unaffected areas (Lake Michigan and Lake Superior).



### WHAT IS VHS AND HOW IS IT SPREAD? WHAT IS VHS AND HOW IS IT SPREAD?

1) VHS is a virus that can cause fish to hemorrhage and result in large scale fish mortality in a short period of time. It

is known to have existed in fish killed in 2003 in Lake St. Clair and resulted in a large fish kill in Lake Ontario in the spring of 2005.

2) VHS can be found in multiple fish species. It do es not affect humans.

3) VHS is primarily transmitted by fish to fish cont act via urine, feces, and sexual fluids. It enters t he new host through the gills or wounds. It also may be possible for th e virus to be transmitted by infected fish eggs.

4) The VHS virus can survive indefinitely in a live host. It is not known how long it can survive outsid e of a host, but it may be a couple of days. If in contact with decaying org anic matter, such as a dead fish, the VHS virus could survive longer and perhaps more than a week, but it is not known for certain.

5) Fishery managers are doing what they can to slow the s pread of the virus and account for the increase in nat ural fish mortality caused by the virus; however, once it i s in wild fish populations, it is unlikely to be cont rolled and impossible to be eliminated.

6) Potential vectors for the introduction and spread in clude: aquaculture, bait fish, recreational boaters, sport fishermen, organisms in trade, natural movement of species and predators, or any other vector capable of transporting a viable virus. The U.S. Federal Gove rnment is currently conducting a “risk analysis.”



### FOR A LL 

### VESSELS DEPARTING AREAS KNOWN TO CONTAIN VHS TO UN AFFECTED PORTS AFFECTED PORTS

1) In lieu of the normal 5-year inspection, annually inspect and replace, as necessary, ballast sea chest scree ns. Replace screens with the smallest openings allowed by good engineering practice. Inspections will be documented by log entry, diver’s report, video report, dry-docking report, marine inspection note, or surveyo r’s

report.

2) During cargo operations, while accounting for boom list, hull stress, and bending moments, lighten th e ship as much as practical to elevate water intakes before balla sting to minimize sediment uptake and increase water f low.

3) Ballast water taken aboard in VHS affected wate rs should be the minimum needed to ensure the safet y of the crew

and vessel. Additional ballast water can be taken ab oard, once deeper water is reached.

4) Ballast water should always be taken aboard or di scharged via the pumps and never “gravity fed or drain ed.” This ensures a fish that somehow makes it past the screen is pulverized by the high speed, high pressure, and ti ght tolerance pump.



### VOLUNTARY BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN CO VOLUNTARY BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN CO-

- SPONSORED BY: SPONSORED BY:

Lake Carriers' Association • Shipping Federation of Canada • United States Great Lakes Shipping Associ ation

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