Knowledge Hub on the Integrated Assessment of Chemical Contaminants and their Effects on the Marine Environment

In a time of environmental awareness, spurred on by the possibility that our world is threatened by climate change, it is important to remember that there are other anthropogenic pressures, which are also essential for addressing the protection of the marine and coastal environment. Pollution is a global, complex issue that contributes to biodiversity loss and poor environmental health and comes from the production and release of many of the synthetic chemicals that we use in our daily lives. Chemical contaminants are often underrepresented as a major contributor of environmental deterioration. The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) established in 2018 the JPI Oceans Knowledge Hub on the integrated assessment of chemical contaminants and their effects on the marine environment. The purpose of the Knowledge Hub was to provide recommendations on how to improve the methodological basis for marine chemical status assessment. The work has resulted in the following policy paper which focuses on improving the efficiency and implementation of integrated assessment methodology of effects of chemicals of emerging concern. Substantial additional knowledge of biological effects is needed to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of our oceans and coastal areas. The Knowledge Hub is represented by highly skilled scientists and policy makers, appointed by the JPI Oceans Management Board, to ensure that the recommendations provided are useful for policy making

PAH metabolites in fish bile: from the Seine Estuary to Iceland

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are environmental contaminants that pose significant risk to health of fish. The International Workshop on Integrated Assessment of Contaminant Impacts on the North Sea (ICON) provided the framework to investigate biomarker responses as well as contaminant concentrations side by side in marine ecosystems. Concentrations of the main PAH metabolites 1-hydroxypyrene, 1-hydroxyphenanthren and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene were determined in bile by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Fish species under investigation were dab (Limanda limanda), flounder (Platichthys flesus) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). A contamination gradient was demonstrated from the low contaminated waters of Iceland and off-shore regions of the North Sea towards higher concentrations in coastal areas. Concentrations of PAH metabolites differed primarily according to sampling region and secondarily to species

Présence et effets des pesticides dans le système fluvio-estuarien de la baie de la Vilaine (Bretagne)

International audienceThis two-year study aimed at characterizing the relations between pesticide levels and biological responses measured at various levels of biological organization in invertebrates (from cellular to community level) along fresh- to marine water continuums. Focus was made on spring, which is a key period for the reproduction of many invertebrate species. The results should help in identifying tools that may be used for the assessment of the ecological status of coastal and estuarine waters exposed to pesticide pollution. They may also be used to model the fate of pesticides in the estuary and the surrounding coastal areas

Integrated chemical and biological assessment of contaminant impacts in selected European coastal and offshore marine areas

This paper reports a full assessment of results from ICON, an international workshop on marine integrated contaminant monitoring, encompassing different matrices (sediment, fish, mussels, gastropods), areas (Iceland, North Sea, Baltic, Wadden Sea, Seine estuary and the western Mediterranean) and endpoints (chemical analyses, biological effects). ICON has demonstrated the use of a framework for integrated contaminant assessment on European coastal and offshore areas. The assessment showed that chemical contamination did not always correspond with biological effects, indicating that both are required. The framework can be used to develop assessments for EU directives. If a 95% target were to be used as a regional indicator of MSFD GES, Iceland and offshore North Sea would achieve the target using the ICON dataset, but inshore North Sea, Baltic and Spanish Mediterranean regions would fail.Postprint1,95

Assessment of contaminant concentrations in sediments, fish and mussels sampled from the North Atlantic and European regional seas within the ICON project

Understanding the status of contaminants in the marine environment is a requirement of European Union Directives and the Regional Seas Conventions, so that measures to reduce pollution can be identified and their efficacy assessed. The international ICON workshop (Hylland et al., 2017) was developed in order to test an integrated approach to assessing both contaminant concentrations and their effects. This paper describes and assesses the concentrations of trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments, mussels, and fish collected from estuarine, coastal and offshore waters from Iceland to the Mediterranean Sea. For organic contaminants, concentrations progressively increased from Iceland, to the offshore North Sea, to the coastal seas, and were highest in estuaries. Metals had a more complex distribution, reflecting local anthropogenic inputs, natural sources and hydrological conditions. Use of internationally recognised assessment criteria indicated that at no site were concentrations of all contaminants at background and that concentrations of some contaminants were of significant concern in all areas, except the central North Sea.Postprint1,95

Biomarkers of general stress in mussels as common indicators for marine biomonitoring programmes in Europe: The ICON experience

This study investigated whether general stress biomarkers in mussels can be applied as common first-tier biomarkers in regional biomonitoring programmes in the North Sea (including Iceland) and western Mediterranean Sea. Stress on Stress (SoS) and lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) biomarkers were analysed in resident mussels (Mytilus sp.) from 8 coastal sites and in transplanted mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from two Spanish Mediterranean coastal sites. The assessment of results, as input to pollution monitoring strategies, was performed jointly for LMS and SoS data from the two regions. Contaminant body burden of the mussels was compared with biomarker results. The results demonstrated that these two general and non-expensive stress biomarkers in mussel can be applied throughout European waters, providing a cost-effective and harmonised approach to screen contaminant-related biological effects within the framework of wide-scale pollution biomonitoring programmes, such as that proposed by the European Union, i.e. the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.Postprint1,95

Integrated indicator framework and methodology for monitoring and assessment of hazardous substances and their effects in the marine environment

Many maritime countries in Europe have implemented marine environmental monitoring programmes which include the measurement of chemical contaminants and related biological effects. How best to integrate data obtained in these two types of monitoring into meaningful assessments has been the subject of recent efforts by the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Expert Groups. Work within these groups has concentrated on defining a core set of chemical and biological endpoints that can be used across maritime areas, defining confounding factors, supporting parameters and protocols for measurement. The framework comprised markers for concentrations of, exposure to and effects from, contaminants. Most importantly, assessment criteria for biological effect measurements have been set and the framework suggests how these measurements can be used in an integrated manner alongside contaminant measurements in biota, sediments and potentially water. Output from this process resulted in OSPAR Commission (www.ospar.org) guidelines that were adopted in 2012 on a trial basis for a period of 3 years. The developed assessment framework can furthermore provide a suitable approach for the assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) for Descriptor 8 of the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).Postprint1,95