Arctic Council Working Group 
Marine Invasive Alien Species in Arctic Waters
Joint CAFF/PAME Project on Marine Invasive Alien Species in Arctic Waters
Because of changing climate and increased sea ice melt, shipping has increased in recent years in the arctic
regions. This trend is expected to continue in the future (CAFF 2010). In relation to Arctic marine species,
ships are the most prevalent vector in marine systems through organism entrainment in ballast water and
biofouling (Molnar, Gamboa, Revenga, & Spalding, 2008; Williams et al., 2013; Bailey et al 2021). Studies
of polar shipping operations have demonstrated that the external hull and ballast tanks of vessels operating
in ice-covered waters can support a wide variety of non-native marine organisms (Ware et al. 2014 and
2016, Chan et al. 2015).
The project will follow up directly on activities in the Arctic Invasive Alien Species Strategy and Action Plan
(CAFF and PAME 2017) in line with relevant marine actions under goal no;
2: Improve the capacity of the Arctic Council and its partners to make well-informed decisions on the needs, priorities, and options for
preventing, eradicating, and controlling invasive alien species in the Arctic by improving the knowledge
base.
3: Undertake prevention and early detection/rapid response initiatives. Where the project will help inform next steps.
Experts
Lead Working Groups
CAFFPAME
Lead Arctic States & Permanent Participants
CanadaNorway
The Kingdom of Denmark