Low salinity residual ballast discharge and exotic species introductions to the North American Great Lakes

Abstract Exotic species introductions to the North American Great Lakes have continued even though ballast water management strategies were implemented in the early 1990s. Overseas vessels that arrive with little or no exchangeable ballast on board have been suspected to be an important source for discharging low salinity ballast containing low salinity tolerant organisms in this region. Residual ballast averaged 18.1 ± 13.4‰ salinity among 62 samples taken primarily from bottom tanks on 26 vessels that entered the Great Lakes in 1999 and 2000. Sampling of 2–4 tanks each on nine vessels indicated all carried at least one tank of residual ballast of ⩽5‰ salinity. Many of these transits originated from the northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea regions which have been the probable source for many of the more recent introductions to this region.