Unintended consequences of a clean regulation: How the U.S. Ballast Water Act led to transboundary invasion of alien species
Candau, F.; Lafferrere, F.; Schlick, J. (2026). Unintended consequences of a clean regulation: How the U.S. Ballast Water Act led to transboundary invasion of alien species. TREE - Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales/RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation: Paris. 47 pp.
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| Keywords |
Motion > Water motion > Water currents > Ocean currents
Caribbean [Marine Regions]
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| Author keywords |
Particle tracking, Transboundary externalities, Maritime trade, Environmental regulation, ballast water, invasive species |
| Authors | | Top |
- Candau, F.
- Lafferrere, F.
- Schlick, J.
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| Abstract |
We study the transboundary ecological incidence of the U.S. Ballast Water Management Act (2012), which requires vessels to exchange coastal ballast water in the open ocean before entering U.S. ports. Using particle tracking through ocean currents, we trace where organisms released during mid-ocean exchange drift along Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. Coastlines that receive more of those organisms record significantly more invasive species after 2012. We also find that more species arrive, more of them become common, and no single species dominates. |
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