International Association of Maritime Universities

California Maritime Academy

Seattle Maritime Academy

Port and Harbor Associations

California Association of Harbor Masters & Port Captains, Incorporated
To promote and encourage development of marinas and harbors along sound management, environmental and economic lines, and to assist wherever and whenever possible, any group or individual, whether private or governmental, in the development of new marinas and/or harbors.

Maritime Unions

American Maritime Officers
Today, American Maritime Officers thrives as a national union affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North America, representing licensed officers in all sectors of the U.S.-flag merchant fleet

The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P)
The MM&P advocates for: licensed deck officers on U.S.-flag commercial vessels sailing offshore and on the inland waterways and on civilian-crewed ships in the government fleet; state pilots; marine engineers; unlicensed seafarers; and maritime industry shore side clerical and service workers.

Sailors' Union of the Pacific
To maintain and develop skill in seamanship and to effect a change in maritime law towards the development of the American Merchant Marine.

Research Centers

Aquatic Bioinvasions Research and Policy Institute - A joint initiative between Portland State University (PSU) and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Its primary goal is to advance an array of collaborative and coordinated research, education and outreach activities that focus on the biological aspects of invasions in aquatic (marine and freshwater) ecosystems. Senior Scientists: Dr. Mark Sytsma (PSU) and Dr. Gregory M. Ruiz (SERC).

Dr. James T. Carlton, Williams College - Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program - Interests include world-wide biological invasions of non-native species in coastal environments and modern-day extinctions of marine organisms in sensitive marine and estuarine habitats.

Cawthron Institute Marine Bioinvasions Programme (New Zealand) - The Marine Invaders Programme provides a risk assessment and management model for research into the transport, establishment, impact, and management of exotic species. Senior Scientist: Dr. Mike Taylor.

CSIRO Research - Introduced Marine Pests (Australia) - Works to develop and promote the application of techniques for earlier detection, more accurate prediction of impacts, and effective assessment of risks and costs associated with marine pest species introduced into Australian marine ecosystems, especially South East Australia, and to develop new methods or improve existing measures to control the introduction and spread, and minimise the impacts of exotic marine pest species.

Dr. Fred Dobbs, Old Dominion University - Interests include the ecology of microorganisms in ships' ballast water.

Marine Invasions Research Lab - A national and international center for research on biological invasions in coastal marine ecosystems. Located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Senior Scientist: Dr. Gregory M. Ruiz.

Naval Research Lab, Key West - The Naval Research Lab (NRL), partnered with the United State Coast Guard, designed, constructed and operates a prototype Ballast Water Treatment System Test Facility as specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. The NRL follows ETV Protocol for the Verification of Ballast Water Treatment Technologies.

NOAA National Center for Research on Aquatic Invasive Species - NOAA established this lab, housed at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to assure cross-NOAA leadership, communication, and coordination for NOAA's research investments in support of understanding, preventing, responding to, and managing aquatic species invasions in U.S. coastal ecosystems. Senior Scientist: Dr. David Reid.

San Francisco Estuary Institute Biological Invasions Program - SFEI's Biological Invasions program conducts scientific and policy research and provides information and analyses on the introduction of exotic organisms into marine and freshwater ecosystems. Senior Scientist: Dr. Andrew N. Cohen.

UC Davis Biological Invasions (BioInv) IGERT Program - A National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. The BioInv IGERT at UC Davis takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study and management of invasive species. The program covers research on both terrestrial and marine invasive species.

Information Databases

AIRD - The Aquatic Invasions Research Directory (AIRD) is an Internet-based, searchable database containing up to the minute information on people, research, technology, policy and management issues relevant to aquatic invasions. The scope of the Directory falls into the following broad areas: aquatic invasions; ballast water; prevention and treatment technologies; and policy and management.

Ballast Water Treatment R&D Directory - Hosted by the Global Ballast Water Management Programme (GloBallast) this directory lists research and development projects that are focused specifically on the physical, mechanical or chemical treatment of ballast water to prevent/reduce the transfer of aquatic organisms.

CANOD - The California Aquatic Non-Native Organism Database (CANOD) was developed by California Department of Fish and Game. The database contains every known marine and estuarine aquatic non-native speices on hte California coast. Includes information about the pathway of introduction (e.g. ballast water, intentional introduction), date of introduction, locations observed, native region of each species and other associated data.

Global Invasive Species Database - Developed by the IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) as part of the global initiative on invasive species led by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP). It provides global information on invasive species to agencies, resource managers, descision-makers, and interested individuals. The database focuses on invasive species that threaten biodiversity and covers all taxonomic groups from micro-organisms to animals and plants.

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Research Inventory (GLSLRI) - An interactive, internet-based, searchable database created as a tool to collect and disseminate up-to-date information about research projects in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Region.

NBIC - The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) is a joint program of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the United States Coast Guard that collects, analyzes, and interprets data on the ballast water management practices of commercial ships that operate in U.S. waters. The principal aims of NBIC are to quantify the amounts and origins of ballast water discharged in US coastal systems and to determine the degree to which such water has undergone open-ocean exchange or alternative treatments designed to reduce the likelikhood of ballast-mediated invasions by exotic species. Ballast water data are available for download.

NEMESIS - The National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System (NEMESIS) is national database of marine and estuarine invasions of the continental U.S. and Alaska. This database compiles detailed information on approximately 500 different non-native species of plants, fish, invertebrates, protists and algae. The database identified which species have been reported, their current populations status, as well as when, where, and how they invaded; it also summarized key information on the biology, ecology, and known impacts of each invader.

National Introduced Marine Pest Information System (NIMPIS)
This website links to a database on over 80 of the known introduced species in Australian waters, and some information on species yet to be found here. NIMPIS also provides an online, convenient mechanism for members of the public or marine stakeholders to report unusual occurrences.

NISbase - The International Nonindigenous Species Database Network functions as a search engine for databases on all forms of invasive species research, issues, management, policy...A good way to produce queries on multiple systems and species at once.

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database - Hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, this site has been established as a central repository for accurate and spatially referenced biogeographic accounts of nonindigenous aquatic speices. Provided are scientific reports, online/realtime queries, spatial data sets, regional contact lists, and general information.

Sea Grant National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse - An international library of research, public policy, and outreach education publications pertaining to invasive marine and fresh-water aquatic nuisance species in North America. It is the home of North America's most extensive library of publications related to the spread, biology, impacts and control of zebra mussels.

Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site (SGNIS) - A national information center that contains a comprehensive collection of research publications and education materials produced by Sea Grant programs and other research institutions across the country on zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species.