Interim Report of the Working Group on Marine Sediments in Relation to Pollution (WGMS)

The Working Group on Marine Sediments in Relation to Pollution (WGMS) met for the first meeting of its new three year term of reference on 2–6 March 2015, in Koblenz, Ger-many. The meeting was attended by ten members from 8 countries, with additional rele-vant presentations received from staff of the host institute.WGMS has six Terms of Reference, with all of them being due for completion in 2017. These terms of reference require the Group to (1) respond to requests for advice; (2) re-port to ICES on research using passive sampling, review the suitability of different pas-sive sampling methods for monitoring contaminants in sediments, to produce guidelines for sediment monitoring using passive samplers, to produce criteria to assess passive sampling monitoring data; (3) to report on the applicability of modelling to explain the distribution of sediment-associated contaminants in relation to potential sources; (4) to advise on deep sea sediment monitoring protocols; (5) to investigate/review the potential for release of contaminants from marine renewable energy activities; (6) to review emerg-ing issues such as microplastics and deep sea mining as potential risks of environmental contamination by hazardous substances.