Evaluation of marine subareas of Europe using life history parameters and trophic levels of selected fish populations

Varying temporal trends in the levels of six groups of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in liver of three gadoid species from the North Sea

From 2005 to 2019, three gadoid species, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and saithe (Pollachius virens), were sampled approximately every third year in the northeastern part of the North Sea. Liver samples were analyzed to investigate levels and temporal trends of six groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs): polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its degradation products, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), trans-nonachlor (TNC), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Some of the highest average concentrations were found in cod, the levels otherwise being similar between the three species and mostly below established threshold values. The levels of all the contaminants except HCB and TNC were higher than previously reported for cod and haddock in the Barents Sea. Significantly decreasing levels were found for Σ7PCBs, ΣDDTs, ΣHCHs and Σ15PBDEs in all three species, and for TNC in haddock and saithe, while there was no significant trend for TNC in cod. HCB levels increased significantly in cod and haddock and showed only a minor decrease in saithe. The observed time trends of legacy POPs demonstrate the persistence of some of the studied pollutants despite efforts to eliminate them from the marine environment.

Current practices and knowledge supporting oil spill risk assessment in the Arctic

Oil spill response (OSR) in the Arctic marine environment conducted as part of operational planning and preparedness supporting exploration and development is most successful when knowledge of the ecosystem is readily available and applicable in an oil spill risk assessment framework. OSR strategies supporting decision-making during the critical period after a spill event should be explicit about the environmental resources potentially at risk and the efficacy of OSR countermeasures that best protect sensitive and valued resources. At present, there are 6 prominent methods for spill impact mitigation assessment (SIMA) in the Arctic aimed at supporting OSR and operational planning and preparedness; each method examines spill scenarios and identifies response strategies best suited to overcome the unique challenges posed by polar ecosystems and to minimize potential long-term environmental consequences. The different methods are grounded in classical environmental risk assessment and the net environmental benefit analysis (NEBA) approach that emerged in the 1990s after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The different approaches share 5 primary assessment elements (oil physical and chemical properties, fate and transport, exposure, effects and consequence analysis). This paper highlights how the different Arctic methods reflect this common risk assessment framework and share a common need for oil spill science relevant to Arctic ecosystems. An online literature navigation portal, developed as part of the 5-year Arctic Oil Spill Response Technologies Joint Industry Programme, complements the different approaches currently used in the Arctic by capturing the rapidly expanding body of scientific knowledge useful to evaluating exposure, vulnerability and recovery of the Arctic ecosystem after an oil spill.