ES&T EUROPEAN N E W S
Health of the North Sea
D
otted with oil platforms, crossed by tankers and ferries, scavenged by fishing trawlers, fed by rivers from Europe's industrial heartland, used for recreation by fun seekers, and lived in by all manner of wildlife from microbes to mammals, the North Sea is one of the most intensively used and abused marine environments in the world. Tucked between Britain, Scandinavia, and continental Europe, its health has been the subject of international study and concern for several decades. In the 1970s 13 nations with coasts on the Northeast Atlantic agreed to stop or reduce the dumping of industrial wastes, sewage sludge, and dredged material at sea (under the Paris Convention]. In 1984 interested nations held the first ministerial conference on the protection of the North Sea, which led to the first quality status report in 1987. Based largely on variable national contributions and opinion, the report revealed the limited scientific knowledge of this marine environment. That same year, a second ministerial conference on the North Sea called for a task force to produce a "dependable and comprehensive" report. Set up by the Oslo and Paris commissions (now merged under a 1992 convention) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the group of scientists and officials recently completed its work (I). A few statistics reveal the enormity of the subject. With an area of 750,000 km 2 and a volume of 94,000 km 3 , the North Sea is fed by 300 km 3 /year of fresh water from a catchment area of about 850,000 km 2 . Each year, 2.5 million tons of fish are caught, 420,000 s h i p s ' movements are made (causing 150 accidents), and 183 million tons of oil and 92 billion m 3 of natural gas are produced (from 301 platforms via 10,750 km of pipelines). The 224 species of fish found there (totaling 12 million tons of biomass, of which 2.5 million tons is caught each year) range from 5-cm gobies to 10-m basking sharks. Ten million seabirds inhabit the area at most times; in the summer, 4
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million seabirds of 28 species breed along the coasts. Despite harmonized analytical protocols and joint monitoring programs established over the past decade, the task force makes it clear that a great deal has yet to be done not only to obtain consistent standards of data but to obtain any data at all in some areas of study. For example, although litter is widespread in the North Sea, few studies have been conducted on its distribution and effects. Reporting of fish catches is another significant weak spot. Also, apart from a- and y-hexachlorocyclohexanes, few data are available on most organic compounds. Indeed, for all pollution, the report says, "There have been few serious attempts to assess changes in contaminant concentrations over time." Furthermore, the task force notes there are few internationally agreed upon environmental objectives or standards against which to judge the health of the North Sea. It also makes the obvious point that conditions and environments vary enormously—geographically and temporally. "The North Sea is such a complex system," it concludes, "that a thorough understanding of it as an ecosystem will probably never be attained." Nevertheless, the report summarizes the available data and concludes, "Although the measures already taken to protect the North Sea are effective, there is a need for continued and in some cases further action." Issues of particular concern include the effect of tributyltin (TBT) on oysters and whelks, the loss of coastal wildlife habitats, e u t r o p h i c a t i o n in some coastal areas, depletion of some fish stocks, levels of persistent organic compounds and cadmium* in fish, human health risks from microbiological pollution and the effects of dredging and trawling on benthic species. In addition to more research on a wide range of topics and development of better or more standard analytical, monitoring, and modeling
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methods, the task force recommends tighter regulation of pollution from ships and offshore platforms, reductions in atmospheric cadmium emissions, a ban on TBT use, further measures to cut nitrogen inputs, additional regulation of wastewater treatment, urgent reduction of fishing of some species as well as less fishing generally, and protection of important habitats. Whatever the task force has achieved, it isn't enough, says Greenpeace. It believes the report's "inability to draw firm conclusions even about changes in contamination since 1985, far less to quantify the effects of human activities, demonstrates once and for all the inadequacy of the technical approach underlaying [it]" (2). Calling the report a "morass of confused, contradictory and incomplete data," Greenpeace calls for "firm action" on eliminating contamination. This, it says, should include phasing out the chlorine and PVC industries, 20% conversion to organic farming by the year 2000, banning discharges of oil-based drilling muds, stopping oil and gas exploration and development, and "radical measures" to reduce commercial fishing. North Sea ministers gather for their fourth conference next year. It seems unlikely, given the economic importance of the oil, transport, and fishing industries, that many of Greenpeace's admonitions will be heeded. More troubling, perhaps, is the possibility that governments won't respond substantially to the more limited measures identified by the task force—not least, to fund the work necessary to produce a quality status report that could deliver the truly "dependable and comprehensive" information they asked for in the first place. References (1) (2)
" N o r t h Sea Quality Status Report 1993"; Oslo and Paris Commissions: London, 1993. "Comments on the North Sea Quality Status Report"; Greenpeace International; Amsterdam, 1994.
Andrew Miller is the editor of Chemistry & Industry in London.
Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 28, No. 6, 1994 257 A
