engleski

BALMAS - Port Baseline Survey Pula and Rijeka

Ballast water and sediment transfer by vessels were recognized as a prominent vector of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens (HAOP) spread across natural barriers, causing global environmental changes, and posing threat to human health, property and resources. The BWM Convention (2004) sets global standards on ballast water management requirements, while recognizing that regional and local specifics have to be considered for its effective implementation. International Maritime Organization (IMO) also releases guidelines that encourage the port states to undertake Port Baseline Surveys (PBS). The Adriatic Sea is a unique and highly sensitive ecosystem, but is also a seaway with intense, even increasing international shipping. Serious concern on the introduction HAOPs by ship's ballast water resulted in a joint cross-border BALMAS project. In the frame of this project PBSs (WP5) were done in 12 Adriatic ports, with the general objectives to produce a list of all organisms present in the selected ports, with particular emphasis on detection and determination od HAOP species. A sampling protocol, based on CRIMP protocol, was produced and suggested to be applied in the frame of the BALMAS project. Protocol relies on scuba diving sampling techniques to be used for collecting benthos biota. The team from the Ruđer Bošković Institute's Center for Marine Research Rovinj was involved in sampling in the ports of Pula and Rijeka, Croatia. Samplings were performed twice in each port, during November 2014 and May 2015. At each port three stations were selected, two presumably under the influence of BW, and one referent, outside the port aquatorium. For each sampling station three transects were set down, 10-15m apart. Vertical part of each transect was leaning against pier wall, and along which sampling sqares should be taken. Horizontal part was laid on the bottom perpendicularly to the wall, starting at the vertical part's lower end. At 50 m from the wall one sediment sample was taken using a hand-held corer (ø = 18 cm, h = 30 cm). The core sample was immediately transferred to a net-bag (1 mm mesh). Hard bottom epifauna was sampled quanitatively inside sampling frame (25 x 40 cm) by carefully scaping into a collection bag (1 mm mesh) fixed below the frame. Sampling surfaces were situated at predefined 7, 3 and 0, 5 m depths. Still pictures of each frame were also taken, before sampling and after fouling community removal, in order to enable subsequent flora coverage estimation. Each mesh bag, containing soft or hard bottom samples was immediately closed using a plastic cable tie, and numerated. Since we found that some parts of the protocol are not set up in the best way regarding diving safety and effectivenes, some modifications of the underwater work itself were applied. In that manner a team of two scientific divers was able to do all the sampling at one sampling station in two consecutive dives, lasting altogether about three hours.

BALMAS ; NIS ; HAOP ; scientific diving ; port

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