Ship-mediated invasive species is one of the most pressing and consequential environmental problems facing the region. The Institute used its unique position within the region to forge collaboration among groups possessing critical parts of the solution to catalyze progress, and generate the regional capacity necessary to effectively implement it. The Great Ships Initiative (GSI) fuses interests, expertise, and resources from the federal government, states, industry, environmental groups, cities, and ports in the United States and Canada, to generate critical information and financial incentives for solving the problem of ship-mediated invasive species.

The Great Ship Intiative (GSI) is a collaborative effort to end the problem of ship-mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. Launched in 2006, the GSI’s first priority is to incubate and evaluate operational and biological performance of prospective ballast treatment systems at three testing scales: bench-scale, land-based, and shipboard. To that end, the GSI’s Land-Based Research, Development, and Technology Evaluation (RDTE) Facility in the Duluth-Superior Harbor of Lake Superior provides state-of-the-art testing services. Laboratory space within the University of Wisconsin-Superior and University of Minnesota-Duluth is utilized for bench-scale tests and analyses. Developers of ballast treatment systems apply for GSI research services online, and awards are offered based on an objective review process. GSI testing will allow meritorious ballast treatment systems to progress as rapidly as possible to an approval-ready and market-ready condition.

The GSI is managed by the Northeast-Midwest Institute. Allegra Cangelosi of the Institute is responsible for overall GSI leadership; GSI design, management, and reporting; and GSI communication and interface. Mr. Steve Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, is responsible for developing the GSI's relationships with the maritime industry, assuring that the GSI is meeting the needs of the maritime industry, and coordinating maritime industry and supply chain outreach. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Lake Superior Research Institute, and the University of Duluth-Minnesota's Natural Resources Research Institute, among others, provide critical scientific and technical expertise and implementation services to GSI's biological research activities, and the GSI generally.

A GSI Advisory Committee helps steer the GSI, providing crucial assistance to the Northeast-Midwest Institute in making GSI award decisions and fundraising.

Funds to support the GSI have been assembled from the private sector, federal grants, Congressional appropriations, foundations, and states. Specific contributors include Canadian and U.S. Great Lakes ports, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Maritime Administration, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. In-kind support has been provided by the City of Superior, WI, the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The GSI is a unique vehicle through which various stakeholders in a healthy Northeast-Midwest regional economy and environment can collaborate to solve common problems and build a stronger region. The GSI is reducing and will ultimately remove technological obstacles to federal policy that meets the needs and interests of the Northeast-Midwest region. In addition, it is creating capacity within the Northeast-Midwest region to respond effectively and efficiently to those federal policy advancements once they occur.

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