Status of introductions of non-indigenous marine species to the North Atlantic and adjacent waters 2003 – 2007

Over the past few years, new records and reports of non-native species have provid- ed additional insight into the potential vectors and spread of introduced pathogens, plants, and animals. This five-year report brings together and summarizes the non- native species introductions reported in annual reports to the Working Group on Introductions and Transfers for the period 2003 – 2007. Not all countries reported eve- ry year, limiting the information on species distributions. Most of the observations are from coastal areas and embayments, and they range from marine waters to brack- ish and, occasionally, freshwater. One exception is an American report on a tunicate that has invaded a productive offshore area 200 nautical miles from shore, suggesting that greater effort needs to be made to determine the offshore distributions of species. One goal of this report is to facilitate understanding of the species present in nearby countries that may disperse to neighbouring countries. The document is divided into five general sections: pathogens, phytoplankton, algae and plants, invertebrates, and fish. Rather than list each country alphabetically, each section reports on non-native species by region: Northeast Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Northwest Atlantic, Great Lakes, and northwest Pacific, and includes reports from Australia and New Zealand. This regional approach intends to provide insight into which species are spreading from country to country and how quickly they are dispersing. The sum- mary tables at the end of the sections also present species by taxon and by region. Species such as Crepidula fornicata, Eriocheir sinensis, and Crassostrea gigas have been present in their non-native areas for a long time, but if they were expanding their ranges, they were included in this report. A few reports provided lists of non-native species not previously reported to ICES, and these species are also included. The edi- tors have attempted to update taxonomic nomenclature, based on the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and for algae also on www.algaebase.org.