scholarly journals Biological consequences of marine pollution with special reference to the North Sea fisheries

1968 ◽  
Vol 17 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 126-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Korringa
2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. I. D. Segers ◽  
M. Dickey-Collas ◽  
A. D. Rijnsdorp

Abstract Segers, F. H. I. D, Dickey-Collas, M., and Rijnsdorp, A. D. 2007. Prey selection by North Sea herring (Clupea harengus), with special reference to fish eggs. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 60–68. he herring stock in the North Sea in recent years has recovered to a relatively high biomass, and here we investigate prey selection of individual North Sea herring when population numbers are high. The diet composition, and specifically pelagic fish eggs, was investigated in February 2004. Samples of herring from the International Bottom Trawl Survey were used for stomach analysis, and ichthyoplankton samples from the southern North Sea were used to investigate selection. Crustaceans were the main diet component. The average diameter of the fish eggs recovered from the stomachs was significantly larger than that of the eggs collected in the field. In addition, the frequency at which the latest developmental stages occurred in the herring stomachs was significantly different from the frequency at which these stages were found in the field. This shows selective foraging. There was a relationship between the amount of food and the number of eggs in a herring stomach: the fullest stomachs tended to contain fewer fish eggs. This suggests that herring forage on eggs when other prey are not available. Hence, it is likely that the dynamics of multiple trophic levels influence the ecological impact of a large herring stock on the North Sea ecosystem.


1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Everaarts ◽  
A. Sarkar

The DNA damage in seastars (Asterias rubens) was studied by measuring the level of integrity of DNA isolated from pyloric caeca of the organisms in order to assess the state of pollution of the North Sea. The effect of various genotoxic chemicals on the integrity of DNA was determined by the level of double strandedness with respect to total DNA following time-dependent partial alkaline unwinding assay. On the basis of the level of integrity of DNA from seastars the study area was distinguished into three clusters: Cluster-I, the highly polluted area (coastal and estuarine zones) with low integrity of DNA (27-43% integrity), Cluster-II, the moderately polluted area (offshore region) with medium integrity of DNA (49-64% integrity) and Cluster-III, less polluted area (near Dogger bank region) with high integrity of DNA (70-87% integrity).


This Royal Society Discussion Meeting has examined the total environmental impact of a whole industry in a single geographical area. Land-based developments related to the exploitation of the North Sea oilfields and their social consequences have been substantial, although neither the worst fears nor the best hopes have been realized. An accommodation has been reached with the fishing industry in the affected area. Offshore platforms are a source of chronic pollution from production water, but in recent years there has been a marked increase in the use of oil-based drilling muds and it is estimated that 20 Mt per year of petroleum hydrocarbons are added to the sea in oil-contaminated drill cuttings. The effect of these additions has been studied in the laboratory, in mesocosms and in field surveys which, together, yield a consistent picture. Within a radius of a few hundred metres of a platform there is impoverishment of the benthic fauna. Close to the platform the production of anoxic conditions through smothering and the activity of sulphide-producing bacteria is probably more significant than the toxic effect of the oil-based muds. Outside this immediate zone of impact, the oil results in organic enrichment and enhanced populations of some of the fauna. The total area affected is, in the context of the North Sea, minuscule. There is no evidence that plankton is materially affected and the success of commercial fisheries dependent upon the plankton crop is more influenced by fishery practices than by any other factor. Seabird populations, about which there was formerly much concern, have not so far been affected by oil pollution in the North Sea. There is wide fluctuation in recruitment success, but populations of species thought most vulnerable to oil pollution are generally increasing. Although marine pollution research has yielded valuable insights into the responses of individuals, populations and communities to perturbation, natural as well as man-made, it is not likely that future problems associated with oil extraction from the sea will be as stimulating to fundamental research. Different problems relating to environmental pollution should now be addressed by marine scientists.


Author(s):  
Johan Marius Ly ◽  
Laura de la Torre ◽  
Ronny Schallier

Abstract In 2019, the BONN Agreement celebrated 50 years of continuous cooperation in dealing with marine pollution in Europe. This makes the Bonn Agreement the oldest regional agreement in the world established by governments for jointly dealing with and responding to pollution incidents. The first “Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil” was signed in 1969 by the eight states bordering the North Sea: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This was shortly after the oil tanker “Torrey Canyon” broke up off Cornwall in 1967 spilling 117 000 tonnes of oil in the first major pollution disaster affecting Western Europe. In 1983 the agreement was expanded to include “other harmful substances” as well as oil and the European Union became a Contracting Party. In 1989 the agreement was amended to include aerial surveillance. In 2010, Ireland was included and in 2019, at the 50'th anniversary, a new enlargement of the geographical scope was approved by including the Bay of Biscay through Spain's accession and a new task related to the monitoring of air pollution from ships was incorporated. The area of the Bonn Agreement now covers the Greater North Sea and its approaches, comprising most of the heavy density traffic area and oil fields in Western Europe. During these 50 years, the cooperation has resulted in a number of achievements on different topics. Some of these are: - aerial surveillance and detection of marine pollution,- harmonized pollution reporting format,- common quantification of oil spills through the Bonn Agreement Oil Appearance Code,- systems for reimbursement of costs when rendering assistance as the Bonn Agreement provides for mutual assistance between Contracting Parties,- joint exercises,- information sharing on experiences and on research & development findings,- Bonn Agreement region-wide risk assessment through the BE-AWARE project. In October 2019, the agreement's 50th anniversary was celebrated and a ministerial meeting was held. This paper will give an overview of the history, the achievements and the future for the Bonn Agreement.


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