8 



tion, and such a species, in theory, could have been released into 

 the Chesapeake Bay this morning. 



Over 15 billion gallons of ballast water are released into this 

 country every year. At any one moment, at this very moment, lit- 

 erally thousands of species are in motion around the world on a bi- 

 ological conveyor belt that knows no precedence. This is ecological 

 roulette in its highest form. 



With the willingness and concern of the shipping industry, mem- 

 bers of which supported the shipping study from its inception, and 

 with their generous cooperation, which I believe we have, we can 

 profoundly decrease the rate of exotic invasions. Thank you. 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Thank you very much. Doctor. 



[The statement of Mr. Carlton may be found at end of hearing.] 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Our next witness will be — how do you pronounce 

 your last name? 



Mr. Shupp. Shupp, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Mr. Shupp. I was pretty close. 



Mr. Shupp. Close. 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Bruce, you have the floor. 



STATEMENT OF BRUCE D. SHUPP, CHIEF, BUREAU OF FISHERIES, 

 DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE, NEW YORK DEPARTMENT 

 OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION 



Mr. Shupp. Thank you. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittees. I 

 am very pleased to testify today in support of the Ballast Control 

 Act. My purpose is to illustrate and to strongly emphasize that pre- 

 venting introduction of nonindigenous aquatic species is a much 

 better strategy than attempting to control them once they are es- 

 tablished. ^ , 



During the last decade, two of the aquatic species that appeared 

 in the Great Lakes' ecosystems will have, or may have, tremendous 

 negative impacts. Those are zebra mussel and a small fish called 

 ruffe. Zebra mussels were discovered in Lake St. Clair in just 1988. 

 They are known to have displaced native mussels, clogged water in- 

 takes, fouled vessel hulls and motors, and affected navigation aids. 

 But the least understood and potentially most damaging impact 

 from zebra mussels is the shift of energy from the mid water areas 

 of the lakes to the bottom environment. 



If this biological productivity of the mid water area significantly 

 declines, many of the desirable fishes will also decline with the po- 

 tential economic loss of several billion dollars annually. There are 

 scientists that predict such a problem. 



Over the next decade, the cost to deal with just the physical and 

 engineering problems associated with zebra mussels are estimated 

 at from $3 billion to $8 billion, depending on whose estimates you 

 use. These are not costs for controlling the organism. We are not 

 controlling zebra mussels. At best, we are slowing expansion of 

 their range as we adapt as a society to them. 



The ruffe, a small fish of the European perch family, was first 

 found in only 1987 in the Duluth Harbor of western Lake Superior. 

 Its ultimate dispersal from Lake Superior will mirror that of zebra 

 mussels — virtually all of the United States east of the Rockies. As 



