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1. 



Mr. Chairmen and members of th* subcommi'fctees , my name is 

 Bruce Shupp. Since 1980 I have been Chief of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries (freshwater) within New Yorlc's Department ot... 

 Environmental Conservation. Since New York is a Great Lakes state' 

 and a cooperator state within the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 

 our agency has been involved in ballast water regulation and 

 management since it became an issue in 1988. Therefore, we arc 

 pleased to testify in support of the Ballast Control Act which will 

 fund studies to determine the safest and most effective methods of 

 ballast water management to prevent introduction of nonindigenous 

 organisms into the receiving water environment. 



My purpose today is to emphasize the need: to expedite th^: 

 research and development studies called for in the Ballast Control 

 Act; to quickly adopt the results; and to rapidly deploy the 

 technology. I will also try to illustrate that preventing the 

 introduction of nonindigenous species is far superior to attempting 

 to control them once they are established. 



Exhortations of concern about the potential negative ia^aots 

 of introducing more nonindigenous species to North America's 

 aquatic ecosystems are not simply "crying wolf". This is neither 

 paranoia, nor misdirected fear of the unknown. The introduction of 

 nonindigenous plants and animals (including things known as 

 diseases) is much more than an academic concern. Major changes to 

 aquatic ecosystems can and have occurred. They have and will 



