Examples of Current International, Regional and National Regulatory Frameworks for Preventing and Managing Marine Bioinvasions

There is a growing understanding at public and policy levels that bioinvasions represent a significant threat to the environment, economic, social and cultural values (e.g., Lubchenco et al. 1991; Pimentel et al. 2000a, b; Carlton 2001; Pimentel 2002). In terrestrial environments this has resulted in the adoption of regulatory frameworks at national, regional and international scales for the maintenance of quarantine and biosecurity protection of human health and economy. The recent outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitus (BSE) and Avian Influenza have galvanised efforts throughout the globe to put in place appropriate measures for the protection and maintenance of our societal values, specifically human health and economy.

In contrast to the terrestrial (and to a lesser degree freshwater) situation, the awareness of marine bioinvasions as a societal threat has been slow to develop. In part this may be due to the relatively recent advent of marine bioinvasion research as a discipline. The seminal treatment of bioinvasions by Elton (1958) had less than 10 % (14 pages) allocated to marine invasions. Similarly, The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) evaluations of bioinvasions during the 1980s and 1990s had no explicit focus on marine systems (e.g., Drake et al. 1989; Mooney et al. 2005). Over the last 25 years, however, a significant volume of work has been established that clearly identifies the global scale of marine bioinvasions (e.g., Carlton 1996, 2001; Hewitt et al. 1999; Hewitt 2003; Ruiz et al. 2000), with the development of theoretical frameworks that underpin explicit calls for research (e.g., Vermeij 1996; Carlton 2001; Byers et al. 2002; Ruiz and Hewitt 2002).