URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Stop ships from bringing INVASIVE SPECIES to our oceans, lakes, and rivers! Act now! 

Friend, take a moment to imagine that you fish for a living on the Great Lakes. You rise early each morning to head out onto Lake Michigan, hoping to return home with a haul big enough to support your family. 

Each year, the pickings grow slimmer. Invasive zebra mussels – brought from Europe by ballast water in ships – have overtaken the Great Lakes, filtering out the algae that fish need to survive. Less fish means less money for you and your community. 

Aquatic invasive species cost the U.S. billions of dollars per year in damages and repair costs. Once these species establish themselves it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of them. That means the only solution is to prevent them from spreading in the first place – your signature can help STOP invasive species! >> Friend, sign the petition to tell the EPA to regulate ship ballast water and fight aquatic invasive species before they OVERRUN our waterways! 

Ships traveling over rough waters without heavy cargo need stability and even in calm waters these ships are so large they need to make sure to stay afloat. That’s where ballast water comes in. It helps to balance the ships – but it can also contain aquatic organisms that become ALIEN INVADERS when those ships dump the water somewhere else across the world.  

Invasive species outcompete native species that native fish need to survive and throw the food web into chaos! The notorious Zebra mussel corrodes pipelines and ship hulls. Since their introduction, the Zebra mussel population in the Great Lakes has grown to 750 trillion mussels! 

It is the EPA’s responsibility to protect our environment. But right now, ballast water is unregulated and alien species are invading our waterways as a result. Please, Friend, protect native species and coastal economies from invaders! Sign the petition now! 

Standing with you, 
Marcie Keever 
Oceans and vessels program director, 
Friends of the Earth