Managing the risk of marine bioinvasion via biofouling: trends in methods of assessment, policy, and legislation

Abstract

Maritime shipping has been recognized as the main pathway of species transference throughout the world. Ballast water or fouling on vessels have become the main vectors of aquatic species transportation between coastal marine ecosystems, which can lead to significant social, economic and ecological negative impacts. Approximately 55% of non-indigenous marine species (NIS) can be associated with vessel biofouling. However, acting to prevent, detect, manage, and control bioinvasion via biofouling is relatively recent. To improve NIS management, several risk assessment frameworks have been proposed. This research undertook a systematic bibliographic review aiming to investigate whether and how risk assessment has been used to manage marine bioinvasion via biofouling. We analyzed 410 scientific studies published by December 31, 2023, via the Scopus database, filtered by keywords, title, and abstract. The paper describes the parameters and methodologies used for assessing bioinvasion risks. Furthermore, it discusses the incorporation of risk assessments into global, regional, and country-level public policies, the latter based on countries that publish the most on the topic. This research highlights the scarcity of mandatory measures in the management of biofouling as well as the urgent need for standardized risk assessment methodologies and for the incorporation of the effects of climate change into these assessments. The development of advanced data analysis tools and a unified strategy to effectively address the complex challenge of marine bioinvasions is also suggested.