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Lake Carriers' Association 



U.S. House of Representatives Bearing on BaUast Exchange Control Act 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries October 27, 1993 



Unfortunately, this growth has come at the expense of the Yellow Perch. Since the appearance of the 

 Ruffe, Duluth/Superior's Yellow Perch population has fallen by an estimated 50 percent. 



Yellow Perch are one of the mainstays of commercial fishing on the Great Lakes. They are the most 

 valuable species in Lakes Erie and Ontario, the second most valuable species in Lakes Huron and 

 Michigan, and the most sought after sport fish in the Great Lakes. Obviously, were the Ruffe to spread 

 beyond its current habitat, the economic losses would be severe, perhaps as much as $100 million a 

 year. 



Equally important, time was of the essence. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission estimated in 1992 

 that there was only a 2-year window of opportunity to halt the spread of the Ruffe. If effective 

 measures are not in place by then, the fish would invade the rest of the Great Lakes system. 



The Voluntary Ballast Water Management Plan instituted at the beginning of the 1993 navigation 

 season is relatively simple in content and execution. The Plan was prepared in close consultation writh 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Plan did not require any retrofitting of vessels or any significant 

 distortions in loading or trading patterns. It was an ideal set of circumstances since Duluth/Superior is 

 primarily a loading out port. Only in certain circumstances is it necessary to take on ballast water in 

 Duluth/Superior. We were operating under the assumption that Great Lakes vessels pumping ballast 

 water onboard could pump onboard live fish which could survive a 36-hotir or longer journey. This 

 assumption, while not proven, was considered to be a reasonable possibility. 



Basically, the sponsoring shipowners associations" received commitments from member fleets to not 

 pimip out ballast water taken on in Duluth/Superior or other ports west of a demarcation line that runs 

 between Ontonongan, Michigan, and Grand Portage, Minnesota, once the vessel has passed that 



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