Is a service wide database of ballast history desired?
The National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA) directed the Coast Guard in conjunction with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) to develop a clearinghouse for the synthesis and analysis of national data concerning ballast water management and ballast-mediated invasions. As a result, the National Ballast Water Information Clearinghouse was established in 1997 at SERC. The Coast Guard and the Clearinghouse are implementing a nationwide program, the National Ballast Survey (NABS), to measure ballast water management and delivery patterns for commercial vessels that arrive to U.S. ports from outside of the EEZ.
