Água de lastro e bioinvasão

Abstract

One of the greatest threats to the conservation of marine biodiversity on the planet is the unintended transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogenic agents through ballast water from ships. The other threats are sources of marine pollution land, exploitation of sources of marine life and the amendment/physical destruction marine habitat. May-say that, in consequence of the global trade, whose merchant ships are responsible for the transport of more than 80% of world commodities, it’s estimated that the same, in its routes, transfer about 12 billion tons of BALLAST WATER annually. Unfortunately this practice imposes serious environmental impacts, as well as economic impacts and for human life, because, in the process of the constant water exchange (apperception and unloading), increasingly exotic aquatic organisms it transported, and unloaded in different habitats, compete markedly for the dissemination of some evils in the world. This monograph has for objective to show the consequences of the ballast water discharges from ships by several parts of the planet, which may contain exotic and pathogenic species, into habitats aquatic (internal and maritime waters), in which there is no natural predators. It takes care of, still, to present the legislation in national and international applied in the control of water ballast, emphasizing about the management of ballast water and sediments in ships.