Major Goals and Objectives

• Determine the ecological changes caused by nonindigenous species that were introduced and established in the Great Lakes via ship ballast discharges
• Quantify the minimum net financial cost (based on market costs) imposed on
  the Great Lakes region by shipping-mediated nonindigenous species
• Forecast the potential range in North America for a subset of high risk species
• Assess how unquantified costs (for currently unstudied species, for market costs imposed outside the Great Lakes region, for non-market costs imposed within and outside the Great Lakes region) might change our evaluation of the net cost of the species and net value of shipping
• Develop policy recommendations and an outreach strategy to inform the public and policy-makers as decisions are made about the management of ballast and the St. Lawrence Seaway