More on Ships' Ballast Water

I recently noted an article on the BBC website regarding the threat from global warming to Antarctic species and that a closer read of the article revealed that the real threat was from the dumping of ships' ballast water. This article in the New York Times, dated February 20, 2008, provides an overview of the threat from introducing invasive species to new environments via ships' ballast water. Among a host of environmental problems caused by a lack of global monitoring and regulation of shipping and poor regulation of global fishing, this appears to be a significant issue.