ICES/IOC/IMO Study Group on Ballast Water and Sediments (SGBWS)

The third and final (under its current mandate) meeting of the ICES/IOC/IMO Study Group on Ballast Water and Sediments (SGBWS) was held in Llandudno, North Wales, UK, 12-13 April 1999 with 49 participants, including 37 attendees representing 11 ICES Member Countries (Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK, USA), 11 guests from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Georgia, Israel, Italy, and Turkey, and 1 representative each from both the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) (Annex 1). The meeting was chaired by Dr J.T. Carlton (USA). Dr M. Nauke represented the IMO and Dr T. Knap represented the IOC. Dr Nauke opened with remarks on the current activities of the IMO in ballast water management (see Section 2.1). Dr Knap commented on the interests and concerns that the IOC has relative to ballast water and species invasions, and noted in particular two related initiatives, the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME) and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).