선박평형수관리협약 이행을 위한 위해도 평가에 관하여 한국에서 수행중인 과학적 노력

Abstract

The ballast water of ships is currently known as the most influential vector that carries on a wide variety of marine organisms beyond their biogeographic range. After discharged into receiving waters, the organisms alter or impact the receiving waters. International maritime organization (IMO) noted that the hazardous impact of introduced organisms through ballast water on the coastal waters where the organisms have never been. Thus, IMO adopted the convention for “International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast water and Sediments” in 2004. Once ratified, all vessels are required to have a Ballast Water Management Plan and to carry out ballast water management to a given standard. This convention aims to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the risks to the environment and human health arising from the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens via ships’ ballast waters. Fourteen guidelines support and provide technical guidance for the uniform implementation of the Convention. To reduce the impact of ballast water organisms into other bioregion, ballast water exchange method in the mid-ocean has been used. However, the biological efficiency of the method is not enough to eliminate the insidious effect of harmful marine organisms. So, more stringent Ballast Water Performance Standard (D-2 regulation) came out to allow all ships to discharge the ballast water into receiving water safely. So, nation should operate decision support system through risk assessment based on the D-2 regulation after the year 2009 according to the capacity and age of ship. Risk assessments defined by G7 guideline under the Convention have also three different approaches such as “environmental matching” “species’ biogeographical” and “species specific,” considering that exemption is granted to ships entering our nation’s coastal waters. For implementation of risk assessment of an aquatic alien species transported with ballast water, po