Nearly 30,000 ship arrivals increased Alaska’s invasive species risk by 50%

The submerged surfaces of nearly 30,000 commercial vessels arriving in Alaska over 11 years created more opportunities for marine organisms to hitchhike to new locations, according to a research.The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, examined 29,799 commercial vessel arrivals to Alaskan ports over the 11-year period, Frontiers Media SA reported. It looked at six major vessel types inlcuding bulkers, container ships, general cargo ships, passenger vessels, tankers and roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) vessels, to assess their potential role in transporting non-indigenous species through biofouling.Biofouling happens when marine organisms attach to or occupy submerged parts of a vessel. These can include fixed organisms such as tunicates, bivalves, sponges, bryozoans and algae, as well as mobile organisms. Some of these species can become marine invaders if they survive transport and establish themselves in a new environment.The researchers found that overall vessel arrivals to Alaska increased 23% during the study period.