Richmond Basant
Contact information
Location:
Education
PhD Candidate (Part-time) Environmental Biology (Commenced 2021)
Project Details
- Title: An Investigation into Ships’ Ballast Water in Trinidad and Tobago
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Summary: Ballast water is seawater taken onboard by ships for purposes of stability, manoeuvrability, and cargo operations. Uptake in one geographic region of the world and discharge into another during routine shipping operations may facilitate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens along a journey that is otherwise naturally impossible for these organisms to make. Some may survive the journey in the ballast tanks becoming established marine alien invasive species in distant marine ecosystems resulting in environmental, economic, social and public-health disruptions. My research focuses on the implications that may occur due to discharge of ballast water and intends to assess the status of ballast water management in the Caribbean and identify the components of ballast water onboard ships arriving in Trinidad and Tobago to better understand its implications. This information is intended to help inform the development of future legislation, policies and management strategies for ballast water and marine invasive species locally and regionally.
- Supervisors: Prof. Judith Gobin, Dr. Azad Mohammed, Dr. La Daana Kanhai
