Co-Convenors: Olga Lukyanova (Russia) and Won Joon Shim (Korea)
Invited Speakers:
Sandra O'Neill (NWFSC, NOAA, USA)
Lorrie Rea (University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA)
Marine pollutants can impact the quality and/or abundance of invertebrates, fish, and wildlife. In addition, the contamination of seafood can diminish the viability of commercial species and/or deliver potentially harmful contaminants to human consumers. While pollutant topics vary geographically, a number of priority pollutants are common throughout the northern hemisphere. This session will highlight a number of practical approaches to assessing the status, trends and effects of emerging and/or priority pollutants in the PICES region, as well as examples from other parts of the world. Some of these approaches are presently being used as indicators of marine environmental quality in some jurisdictions. Examples include the 'Mussel Watch'’ program for monitoring metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), spatial and temporal trends in POPs in seabird eggs, and effects of POPs and hydrocarbons on the health of marine biota. Some of these efforts have proven very useful in revealing improvements to marine ecosystem health subsequent to the implementation of regulations, including the dramatic declines in PCB, DDT, dioxin and organotin levels and associated effects. Nevertheless, a number of pollutant concerns are emerging, such as replacement flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, and current use pesticides. Characterizing the status, trends and effects of marine pollutants in coastal ecosystem components can provide cost-effective means to guide regulations, source control and/or remediation strategies that will ultimately protect ecosystem health and services.