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Hello sust-mar subscribers - This press release was written in response to two coincident events: the release of Canada's Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development's (CESD) report on invasive species, and the detection of the oyster-killing parasite MSX in the Bras D'Or Lakes, Cape Breton. The CESD report is available online at: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/cesd_cedd.nsf/html/menu3_e.html Regards, Gretchen Fitzgerald PRESS RELEASE: ECOLOGY ACTION CENTRE CALLS ON CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO RESPOND TO THREAT OF BIOINVADERS SUCH AS OYSTER-KILLER MSX Thursday, October 31, 2002 The Committee On Marine Bioinvasions (COMB) of the Ecology Action Centre says the recent arrival of the oyster parasite known as MSX in the Bras D'Or Lakes is a symptom of an infection of inertia that has immobilised the government of Canada. This diagnosis is supported by a report issued last week by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD). "The lack of monitoring and regulation for invasive species is shocking," says Gretchen Fitzgerald, a member of COMB and graduate student at Dalhousie University, "If monitoring for bioinvaders had been in place, this invasion might have been prevented or stopped before serious damage was done." The invasion of MSX was predicted over a year ago by experts attending a workshop on the subject of aquatic bioinvasions hosted by the Ecology Action Centre. "We get no satisfaction from the fact that we saw this coming," says Fitzgerald, "but, in reality, this invasion and the conclusions of the Commissioner's report merely increase our sense of unease. If we could see this coming, why didn't DFO or Transport Canada act to prevent it? And what is being done to prevent the introduction of the other potential bioinvaders on our list - one of which is another deadly oyster disease?" Oyster farmers believe the disease will cost millions of dollars in damage and its introduction is a real setback for the burgeoning oyster farming industry in Cape Breton, an industry that is worth $900,000 annually. MSX is just the latest of a series of bioinvasions detected in Atlantic Canada in recent years, which has seen the arrival of the green crab, the clubbed tunicate, and the Japanese green seaweed Codium sp., also known as the oyster thief. "It is clear in this report that DFO and Transport Canada are passing the buck while bioinvaders creep in," says Dr. Lise Chapman, a research associate at Dalhousie University and an expert on the Codium sp. invasion, "In two weeks, I have the onerous task of describing Canadian initiatives for the monitoring of aquatic invasions at a conference in Boston. It promises to be a very short presentation because, to my knowledge, there are no such programmes in place." In fact, according to the CESD report, there has been no "identifiable change" in government policy in response to the problem of bioinvasions. This in spite of Canada's commitment to deal with the issue of bioinvasions in the decade-old UN Convention on Biological Diversity, not to mention the costs of bioinvasions to the Canadian economy, costs that are estimated to be in the billions of dollars per year. The report is harshly critical of Environment Canada for failing to meet its obligation to spearhead policies relating to invasive species. Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are also skewered in the report for failing to respond to the threat the aquatic invasions. DFO is obligated under the Fisheries Act to deal with invasive species because they are a significant threat to fish habitat and food. Bill C-15 of the Canada Shipping Act gives Transport Canada a means to regulate ships' ballast, a major vector for marine bioinvaders. The CESD report calls for DFO and Transport Canada to work together to come up with standards for ballast water treatment and to see to it that these standards are met through monitoring. The oyster-killing parasite MSX was discovered last August at an oyster farm located adjacent to the Little Narrows gypsum loading facility. Although DFO is still trying to pinpoint the origin of the disease, the parasite may have been transported to the area on ships' hulls or in ballast water. Ships using the facility commonly travel from the port of Baltimore, an area where outbreaks of the MSX parasite are common. Ships travelling from the region are not permitted to discharge their ballast in US coastal waters because of the risk of spreading critters such as MSX, but there are no such regulations in place north of the border. The CESD report concludes with a prediction that, with globalisation, the likelihood of new introductions will increase. "If the Ministers of the Environment, Transport, and Fisheries and Oceans don't act soon to address the problem of bionvasions, we can expect further devastation and the costs of invasions will soar" warns Fitzgerald, "Experts agree that prevention of bioinvasions is the key. Once they are here, bioinvaders, especially aquatic bioinvaders, are virtually impossible to eradicate. It's a case of go hard or they won't go home." If you would like more information, please contact Gretchen Fitzgerald at the Ecology Action Centre (902-429 -2202) or Lise Chapman (902-868-1357 or 902-494-2349). - 30 - -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- SUST-MAR TIP: our archives are http://www.chebucto.ca/lists/sust-mar CBC enviro news-briefs follow: -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- CHARGES IN THE LITTLE SACKVILLE RIVER FISH KILL Nova Scotia's environment department is laying charges in connection with last summer's pollution of the Little Sackville River in which thousands of fish were killed. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_slatechgs021107 SYDNEY RIVER'S TAINTED WELL PROBLEM GETTING WORSE A few days ago, there were about five contaminated wells in the Beaumont Avenue area of Sydney River. Now there are 23, and people still don't know the source of the problem. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_taintwell021107 © Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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