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You are here: Home / Welcome To The Public Data Portal / Interactive Graphs and Tables / Public Data Portal: Shipping and Invasions Biology

Public Data Portal: Shipping and Invasions Biology

In addition to collecting and analyzing data on ship arrivals, ballast water delivery, and ballast water management, the NBIC and broader Marine Invasions Research laboratory conducts field research such as sampling ballast water tanks for zooplankton and phytoplankton, collecting samples from ships' hulls, and yearly port surveys of marine, estuarine, and aquatic species. This research allows the NBIC program, SERC scientists, and US Coast Guard to document, understand, and characterize patterns of marine invasions across space, time, and taxonomic groups, help predict the establishment, spread, and impact of non-indigenous species in marine ecosystems, evaluate the efficacy of ballast water management and species control strategies to limit their establishment and impact, and better inform state and federal agencies about the state of invasive species in US waters.  The NBIC ballast water management data are available to the public through a searchable online database, while the life history and locations of marine and estuarine non-indigenous species in the United States and other countries are available through the NEMESIS database, which draws from NBIC and Marine Invasion laboratory field research as well as from an extensive literature library.

Note: All data available in graphs and tables extend through the last complete month and are refreshed monthly. Because ballast water management reports may be amended, corrected or changed during quality control processes, particularly within the 20 days from arrival date for the last complete month, this may result in updates that will register when the data are next refreshed.  All data are subject to change and use of any of the NBIC data implies agreement with the NBIC Data Use Agreement policy. Cite our data.

This section presents cumulative annual data from the NEMESIS database and from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database on the introduction of Non-indigenous Species (NIS) invertebrates and algae (excluding fishes and plants) into US waters from 1990 to present day. These data are presented at the national scale and regionally to and examine the possible vector(s) of introduction as they relate to commercial shipping.

At the national scale, commercial shipping vectors such as ballast water, hull fouling, or the combination of both, are possible vectors for ~74% of US marine and estuarine NIS introductions based on their biology and invasion history. Similarly, within each region NIS introductions are highly associated with commercial shipping and follow similar patterns, even if the actual numbers of NIS species differ. For many NIS introductions, their life histories enable them to be possibly transported by multiple shipping associated vectors. For instance, an organism like the striped barnacle has a larval life stage that is easily transported as zooplankton taken up inside ballast tanks, whereas adults can cling to the hull of a vessel as it moves throughout the oceans. Other methods of NIS introduction include aquarium and pet trades, fisheries, mariculture activities, live bait trade, nursery trades in wetland species, and recreational vessels. For some species, such as the green crab, these vectors are an additional possible method of transport besides ballast water and hull fouling.

Chart Directions

These interactive figures present the cumulative number of NIS introduced into the United States by shipping vector or combination of vectors annually from 1990 through the present day. There are 4 charts; the 'National' chart represents all data for all US regions, while the remaining 3 display data for each marine and estuarine coastal region (East, Gulf, and West) from the NEMESIS database. To tailor your query and figure, you may select or deselect the possible vector categories in the interactive legends underneath each chart. These categories include:

  • BW=Ballast Water only
  • HF=Hull Fouling only
  • BW+HF=Ballast Water and Hull Fouling possible
  • Other=Other non-shipping vectors only
  • BW+Other=Ballast Water and Other vectors possible
  • HF+Other=Hull Fouling and Other vectors possible
  • BW+HF+Other=Ballast Water, Hull Fouling, and Other vectors all possible

To determine the role of each vector, you must make multiple selections.

  • To examine the number of species likely introduced by ballast water, select all categories that include "BW" in the legend and deselect any categories that do not include "BW." This will show the total number of species that could have been transported by ballast water over time.
  • To investigate the number of species likely introduced by hull fouling, select all categories that include "HF" and deselect any category that does not include "HF." This will show the total number of species that could have been transported by hull fouling over time.
  • To examine all species likely introduced by commercial shipping in general, the six categories that have "BW" and/or "HF" within must be selected, and only the "Other" category is deselected.

You can zoom and pan interactively in the figure. To select a range in the number of species in the chart, hold down the left mouse button and drag the arrow up and down the graph.  The figure and data can be exported using the 'Export Chart' menu in the upper right corner of the figure. Below the figures is a data table that can be exported in different formats for all data used in these figures.

Cumulative number of NIS introduced into US waters over time by region: National (All Coasts), US East, Gulf, and West Coasts

NIS Vector Data Table

The full dataset for NIS and Shipping Vectors is available in this table. You may download the table by clicking on the formats at the top right of the table.

Non-indigenous Species: Vectors and Regions

Year Region BW Only BW+HF HF Only BW+Other HF+Other BW+HF+Other Other
1990 East Coast 3 24 27 12 10 9 75
1991 East Coast 3 24 28 12 10 10 78
1992 East Coast 3 26 28 13 10 10 81
1993 East Coast 3 26 28 13 10 10 81
1994 East Coast 3 27 29 13 10 10 81
1995 East Coast 3 29 30 14 10 11 82
1996 East Coast 3 33 30 14 10 11 83
1997 East Coast 3 34 30 14 10 11 83
1998 East Coast 3 37 30 14 10 12 84
1999 East Coast 3 40 30 15 10 12 86
2000 East Coast 3 40 32 15 10 12 91
2001 East Coast 4 42 33 15 10 13 91
2002 East Coast 4 45 34 15 10 14 92
2003 East Coast 4 46 34 15 10 15 95
2004 East Coast 4 46 37 16 10 15 96
2005 East Coast 4 47 37 16 10 16 96
2006 East Coast 4 48 37 16 10 16 97
2007 East Coast 4 50 37 17 10 16 99
2008 East Coast 4 50 37 18 10 16 100
2009 East Coast 4 51 38 18 10 17 102
2010 East Coast 5 51 40 18 10 17 102
2011 East Coast 5 52 40 18 10 17 102
2012 East Coast 5 52 40 18 10 17 102
2013 East Coast 6 55 41 18 10 17 103
2014 East Coast 7 55 41 18 10 17 103
2015 East Coast 7 55 41 18 10 17 104
2016 East Coast 7 55 41 18 10 17 104
2017 East Coast 7 57 41 18 10 17 104
2018 East Coast 7 57 42 18 10 17 105
2019 East Coast 7 58 42 18 10 17 105
2020 East Coast 7 58 42 18 10 17 106
2021 East Coast 7 58 42 18 10 17 107
2022 East Coast 7 58 42 18 10 17 107
2023 East Coast 7 58 42 18 10 17 107
1990 Gulf Coast 3 16 11 4 5 2 29
1991 Gulf Coast 3 16 12 4 5 2 29
1992 Gulf Coast 3 17 12 4 5 2 29
1993 Gulf Coast 3 19 12 4 5 2 30
1994 Gulf Coast 3 19 12 5 5 2 31
1995 Gulf Coast 3 19 12 6 5 2 31
1996 Gulf Coast 3 21 12 6 5 2 35
1997 Gulf Coast 3 23 12 6 5 2 35
1998 Gulf Coast 3 23 12 6 5 2 37
1999 Gulf Coast 3 26 13 6 5 3 38
2000 Gulf Coast 3 26 14 6 5 3 39
2001 Gulf Coast 3 26 14 6 5 4 39
2002 Gulf Coast 3 27 15 6 5 4 39
2003 Gulf Coast 3 27 15 7 5 5 40
2004 Gulf Coast 3 31 16 7 5 5 41
2005 Gulf Coast 3 32 16 7 5 5 41
2006 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 5 43
2007 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 5 43
2008 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 5 43
2009 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 6 44
2010 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 6 44
2011 Gulf Coast 3 35 17 7 5 6 44
2012 Gulf Coast 3 36 17 7 5 6 45
2013 Gulf Coast 3 36 17 7 5 7 45
2014 Gulf Coast 3 36 18 7 5 7 45
2015 Gulf Coast 4 36 18 7 5 8 45
2016 Gulf Coast 4 36 18 7 5 8 46
2017 Gulf Coast 4 37 18 8 5 8 46
2018 Gulf Coast 4 38 18 8 5 8 46
2019 Gulf Coast 4 39 18 8 5 8 46
2020 Gulf Coast 4 39 18 8 5 8 46
2021 Gulf Coast 4 39 18 8 5 8 46
2022 Gulf Coast 4 39 18 8 5 8 46
2023 Gulf Coast 4 39 18 8 5 8 46
1990 West Coast 16 21 21 18 34 56 93
1991 West Coast 18 22 22 18 34 57 93
1992 West Coast 21 22 22 19 34 57 93
1993 West Coast 25 24 22 19 36 59 95
1994 West Coast 25 25 22 19 39 59 96
1995 West Coast 26 25 22 21 40 60 96
1996 West Coast 27 26 22 21 40 60 96
1997 West Coast 28 27 22 23 41 60 101
1998 West Coast 28 29 22 23 41 61 102
1999 West Coast 28 30 22 24 41 61 105
2000 West Coast 28 33 23 25 44 64 105
2001 West Coast 29 38 25 26 44 64 105
2002 West Coast 29 38 25 28 44 64 106
2003 West Coast 29 40 26 28 45 64 113
2004 West Coast 32 42 28 28 45 64 113
2005 West Coast 32 42 28 30 45 64 113
2006 West Coast 32 43 28 30 45 64 113
2007 West Coast 32 43 28 31 46 65 113
2008 West Coast 32 43 30 32 46 65 113
2009 West Coast 32 44 30 33 46 66 113
2010 West Coast 32 45 30 33 46 67 113
2011 West Coast 32 45 31 33 47 68 113
2012 West Coast 32 45 32 33 48 68 114
2013 West Coast 32 45 33 33 49 68 114
2014 West Coast 32 45 33 33 49 68 114
2015 West Coast 32 46 33 33 49 68 114
2016 West Coast 32 47 34 33 49 68 115
2017 West Coast 32 47 35 33 49 68 117
2018 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
2019 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
2020 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
2021 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
2022 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
2023 West Coast 33 47 36 33 49 68 117
1990 All Coasts 19 45 41 29 38 59 148
1991 All Coasts 21 46 43 29 38 61 151
1992 All Coasts 24 47 43 31 38 61 153
1993 All Coasts 28 49 43 31 39 63 155
1994 All Coasts 28 51 43 32 41 63 157
1995 All Coasts 29 52 44 35 42 65 158
1996 All Coasts 30 56 44 35 42 65 161
1997 All Coasts 31 58 44 37 43 65 163
1998 All Coasts 31 61 44 37 43 66 167
1999 All Coasts 31 65 45 37 43 67 172
2000 All Coasts 31 68 48 38 46 70 178
2001 All Coasts 32 74 51 39 46 71 178
2002 All Coasts 32 76 52 41 46 71 180
2003 All Coasts 32 79 53 41 47 72 189
2004 All Coasts 34 84 56 42 47 72 190
2005 All Coasts 34 84 56 44 47 73 190
2006 All Coasts 34 87 57 44 47 73 192
2007 All Coasts 34 89 57 45 48 74 192
2008 All Coasts 34 89 58 47 48 74 192
2009 All Coasts 34 91 59 48 48 76 194
2010 All Coasts 35 91 61 48 48 77 194
2011 All Coasts 35 92 62 48 49 78 194
2012 All Coasts 35 93 63 48 50 78 196
2013 All Coasts 36 93 65 48 51 79 196
2014 All Coasts 36 93 66 48 51 79 196
2015 All Coasts 36 94 66 48 51 80 197
2016 All Coasts 36 95 67 48 51 80 199
2017 All Coasts 36 97 68 49 51 80 200
2018 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 201
2019 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 201
2020 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 201
2021 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 202
2022 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 202
2023 All Coasts 37 97 69 49 51 80 202

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