The ICES coordinated monitoring programmes, 1975 and 1976

A baseline survey of pollutant levels in fish and shellfish from the North Sea was conducted under ICES auspices in 1972. The results of this survey were published by the Council in Cooperative Research Report, No.39 (1974). The report concluded that a lthough the North Sea was not seriously polluted there was a need for continued monitoring in certain areas, particularly the coastal margins, the Southern Bight , Kattegat and Skagerrak areas. Since most of the countries concerned were already carrying out routine measurements for their own national purposes it was considered likely that information could be pooled from these various programmes and welded into a Coordinated Monitoring Report on the areas indicated to be worthy of continued study on an international basis. A new Working Group on Pollution Baseline and Monitoring Studies in the Oslo Commission and ICNAF Areas was formed in 1974. This Group was charged, among other duties, the conduct of on-going monitoring in the North Sea. ln order to achieve this, it a dopted the suggested use of selected data from national programmes and Jai~ down certain minimum criteria for the acceptance of data. Data were only to be taken from laboratories which had successfully taken part in the ICES intercalibration exercises for analysis of me tals and organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. The actual monitoring data were only t o refer to t hose species which had been included in the Baseline Study, i.e., cod, plaice, herring, mussels and brown shrimps, and all the data were to be submitted to the coordinator by April 30 of the following calendar year so as to allow preparation and publication of a report on an annual basis after approval at the ICES Statutory Meeting. The first report, on 1974 data, was submitted to the 19 75 Statutory Meeting and after some delay, while additional late da t a were incorporated, this report was pub lished in January 1977 as Cooperative Research Report No.58. Prior to publication the report had also been submitted to the Oslo Commission and the Interim Paris Commission, both of which bodies expressed interest in the report and its coverage and indicated a favourable attitude towards further such reports. This confirmed the ICES view that the reports were worthwhile and steps were taken to organise similar reports on monitoring carried out in 1975 and in 1976.