Testimony regarding regulation of ships in the Great Lakes declaring “no ballast on board” (NOBOBS). May, 2005. Gary L. Isbell, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife.
I am the administrator of the Fisheries Management and Research Group within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. For the past 27 years, I have worked as a hatchery manager, a research biologist, and an administrator. Currently, my duties include administration of our fish hatcheries, research units, environmental assessment, and district fisheries units. Spatially, these responsibilities span Lake Erie, inland lakes, streams and the Ohio River.
In 1873, concerned Ohio citizens, worried about declines in fish populations due to pollution, habitat loss, dams, and over-fishing, got together and formed the Ohio Fish Commission. That commission eventually became the Division of Wildlife in the Department of Natural Resources. Aquatic invasive species weren’t an issue way back then. I am sure that in 1790, when Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, the current scope of the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in prevention of aquatic invasive species (AIS) could not have been understood. Today we both recognize AIS as serious, irreversible, and mostly uncontrollable problems. The magnitude and frequency of AIS issues seem to be increasing exponentially. Lately, it seems like four out of every five e-mails, letters, meetings, or phone calls I deal with relate to AIS. Direct costs of AIS problems are huge, but seldom can we take into account the loss of effort that should be going to other serious ecological problems. Furthermore, the difficulty and complexity of solving “normal” fisheries management problems has increased with the introduction of more and more AIS. Here’s one example: last year, after research indicated the devastating predatory effect round gobies, a ship-borne invader, have on Lake Erie smallmouth bass reproduction, we implemented a regulation that virtually shut down bass fishing each year between May 1 and the last Saturday in June. We never would have had to be this restrictive about fishing for bass if it were not for the effects of gobies. Now we can only hope that bass can fight off the dozens of gobies that surround each egg-laden nest. The viability of our native bass population that historically survived heavy fishing, pollution, and habitat changes is now threatened by predatory stresses from an alien egg stealer. What we have come to realize is that every time an ocean-going ship opens a ballast tank in the Great Lakes it can represent a dangerous ecological experiment.
As I go about my business, it seems that people associated with the resource hold the local authorities responsible for doing something about AIS. We are routinely the people in front of the charter boat captains, week-end warriors, and the commercial fishermen. For the most part, we ARE responsible for fisheries management and have made great progress in protection, enhancement, and restoration of Great Lakes fishery resources. In contrast, other than the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s sea lamprey program, efforts to effectively control the abundance and distribution of AIS have failed. Methodically, the U.S.Geological Survey plots and publishes maps of the distribution of each new species as they march across the Great Lakes and diffuse into the Mississippi Basin on their way to the Gulf of Mexico or points even further west. In my opinion and experience, once harmful organisms have taken hold here, the legions of task forces, committees, panels, and the 100th meridian are no match for the natural and man-made vectors that facilitate their subsequent occupation of the United States.
This opportunity regarding NOBOBs is different. For once, we are talking about strategies of PREVENTION and not “too little” and “too late” control. Your agency is owning up to the responsibility that we cannot and should not assume. For once, we are here to tell you how important it is and encourage you to succeed. I hope that other federal agencies, such as the USEPA and the USFWS do the same and act upon the authorities they have. You and other federal agencies have the primary authority and the primary jurisdiction to implement significant prevention strategies; we do not. However, should you fail, my sense is that local authorities, regardless of the acknowledged inefficiencies, will continue striving to somehow, someway gain leverage on the problem. Prevention of AIS introductions via NOBOBs will be difficult. We know that. What we ask is that the notion of impossibility be dismissed. Prevention of AIS introductions via NOBOBs will be expensive. We know that. What we ask is that the notion that it is too expensive be dismissed. If we can afford and enjoy the benefits of the lock system, dredging, ice breaking, and navigational aids, my opinion is that we can afford to deal with NOBOBs.
I wish I had the technical expertise to tell you exactly what to do. I don’t. I have been on the other side of the table at hearings like this and received lots of advice that started with “why don’t you just…” or “what will it hurt if…”. A long time ago a biology professor told me that “for every complex ecological problem there is always a simple solution…and it is wrong.” We understand that if there were a simple, cheap solution to the NOBOB problem, it would already be in place. Now, we are desperate for progress, even if it is complex and expensive.
Please understand that the Great Lakes fisheries resources mean an awful lot to millions of people in the Great Lakes region. Lake Erie fisheries mean an awful lot to hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio alone. To be honest, Lake Erie walleye, smallmouth bass, and perch fishing mean an awful lot to me and my family.
I have great respect for the United States Coast Guard. In all of my interactions, I have found Coast Guard people to be sincere, professional, and positive. Please be responsive to our concerns; act according to your authority; be creative; and do something as soon as you possibly can! If we can be of any assistance in the evaluation or implementation of the strategies that you devise, please let us know.