Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Enlargement of the S uez C anal and Introduction of Non‐Indigenous Species to the Mediterranean Sea

2015; Wiley; Volume: 24; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/lob.10036

1539-6088

Bella Galil, Ferdinando Boero, Simonetta Fraschetti, Stefano Piraino, Marnie L. Campbell, Chad L. Hewitt, James T. Carlton, Elizabeth Cook, Anders Jelmert, Enrique Macpherson, Agnese Marchini, Anna Occhipinti‐Ambrogi, Cynthia H. McKenzie, Dan Minchin, Henn Ojaveer, Sergej Olenin, Gregory M. Ruiz,

Marine and environmental studies

The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world – during the last year 17,148 ships passed through the Canal – reducing emissions, saving time, and operating costs to shippers. The rapid increase in ship size from the “Post-Suezmax” (> 12,000 TEU) to the latest container vessels (> 19,000 TEU) now requires enlargements of port facilities and canals. A project of this magnitude, and with potentially negative environmental outcomes, requires a transparent and scientifically sound “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA). An explicit obligation on Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf) was made to consider transboundary impacts on biodiversity, particularly those associated with invasive non-indigenous species. Although a non-binding instrument, the “Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” sets forth important principles of international environmental law (UN 1992): States are responsible for ensuring that activities within their jurisdiction do not damage the environment of other States, and EIA, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment. To our knowledge, no Environmental Impact Assessment has been made available for public view, should it exist. The number of nonindigenous species in some Mediterranean countries. In red, the fraction of species likely introduced through the Suez Canal. We are particularly concerned about the possibility that the enlargement will facilitate further introduction of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean Sea. To-date, 443 species of macrophytes, invertebrates and fish are likely to have entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, of which number 89 have been recorded in five or more countries. Some of these species have had significant impacts. A scyphozoan jellyfish, Rhopilema nomadica, recorded since the early 1980s, forms huge swarms each summer along the Levantine coast, which adversely affecting tourism, fisheries and coastal installations. The “silverside” pufferfish, Lagocephalus sceleratus, was likely introduced through the Canal to the eastern Mediterranean in 2003 and has recently spread from the Black Sea to Spain. This species poses severe health hazards because its internal organs contain a strong paralytic neurotoxin, inducing vomiting, respiratory arrest, seizures, coma, and occasionally, death. It also damages fishing nets and lines causing economic losses for fishermen. Finally, two herbivorous rabbit fishes, Siganus luridus and S. rivulatus, are responsible for an extraordinary shift in the Levantine Basin from well-developed algal assemblages in the rocky infralittoral to extensive “barrens,” with a dramatic decline in biogenic habitat complexity, biodiversity and biomass. Cumulative number of species thought to be introduced through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean sea. Similarly, Article 4.3(d) of the Regional Sea Convention – the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (“Barcelona Convention”) promotes “cooperation between and among States in environmental impact assessment procedures related to activities under their jurisdiction or control which are likely to have a significant adverse effect on the marine environment of other States or areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.” Egypt is a signatory to both conventions. We acknowledge the important role of the Suez Canal in global trade; however, we are concerned about the inattention to international agreements and the neglect of sustainable practices that might be employed to minimize deleterious environmental impacts with long term consequences. EIA is a scientifically valid, formal process to identify potential adverse effects as a consequence of planned activities, both during the development and operational phases of a project. An EIA would facilitate evaluation of and choices for the implementation of cost-effective mitigating strategies and infrastructure. A swarm of the scyphozoan jellyfish, Rhopilema nomadica, likely introduced through the Suez Canal, blocked water-intake pipes of power plant in Israel, 2011. We are writing as concerned scientists, whose research deals with the effects of unrestrained introduction of invasive non-indigenous species. This is one opportunity to prevent, or minimise, a potential great ecological setback to the biodiversity and the ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea that should not be missed. We have already expressed our concerns in open letters, signed by scientists from 39 countries, sent to the intergovernmental organizations and to the appropriate EC Commissioners. A school of the twospot cardinalfish, Cheilodipterus novemstriatus at Rosh HaNikra canyon, Israel, 2012. The species was first recorded off Israel in 2010 (Photo: B.S. Rothman). There is still much more that can be done – we invite you to join us. If you agree, please send a brief email with your name and affiliation to bella@ocean.org.il Bella Galil, National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel, bella@ocean.org.il Stefano Piraino, Simona Fraschetti, Ferdinando Boero, Department of Biological and Environmental Science and Technologies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, ferdinando.boero@unisalento.it, simona.fraschetti@unisalento.it, stefano.piraino@unisalento.it Chad Hewitt, Marnie Campbell, School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, mcampbel@waikato.ac.nz, chewitt@waikato.ac.nz James Carlton, Maritime Studies Program, Williams College-Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, USA, James.T.Carlton@williams.edu Elizabeth Cook, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Argyll, UK, Elizabeth.Cook@sams.ac.uk Anders Jelmert, Fl⊘devigen Marine Research Station, Institute of Marine Research, His Norway, anders.jelmert@imr.no Enrique Macpherson, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CSIC), Blanes Girona, Spain, macpherson@ceab.csic.es Anna Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Agnese Marchini, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, agnese.marchini@unipv.it occhipin@unipv.it Cynthia Mckenzie, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada, Cynthia.Mckenzie@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Dan Minchin, Marine Organism Investigations, 3 Marina Village, Ballina Killaloe, Co Clare, Ireland moiireland@yahoo.ie Henn Ojaveer, Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Pärnu, Estonia, henn.ojaveer@ut.ee Sergej Olenin, Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Klaipeda University, Klaipeda, Lithuania, sergej@corpi.ku.lt Greg Ruiz, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA, ruizg@si.edu