Assessment of seafood contamination under the marine strategy framework directive: contributions of the German environmental specimen bank

Annette Fliedner,Nina Lohmann,Burkhard Knopf,Michael Jud,Ulrike Pirntke,Martin Paulus,Jan Koschorreck,Heinz Rüdel

doi:10.1007/s11356-018-2728-1

Abstract

Descriptor 9 (D9) of the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive refers to the compliance of contaminant levels in fish and other seafood of a defined marine region or subregion with human health threshold values. This requires georeferenced samples that are often difficult to obtain when relying on commercial fisheries or programs designed for monitoring human exposure. The present study examines whether georeferenced samples of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) fillet of the German environmental specimen bank (ESB) can be used in this context. The suitability of the ESB samples, procedures, and analytical methods is evaluated with respect to D9 requirements. Based on ESB data for the D9 relevant contaminants Pb, Cd, Hg, ∑4 PAHs, PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like (dl)-PCBs, and indicator non-dl-PCBs and the potentially relevant substances TBT, PFOS, PBDE, and HBCDD, the Good Environmental Status for D9 is assessed at the ESB sites in the North and Baltic Seas. The overall evaluation indicates that ESB samples are suitable for D9 assessment with the limitation that only coastal areas of the North and Baltic Seas are covered. Over a period of up to 30 years, concentrations of the D9 relevant contaminants were well below the maximum levels allowed for human consumption.

Highlights

Marine environments are under massive pressure caused by anthropogenic exploitation and pollution
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the suitability of the environmental specimen bank (ESB) samples for Descriptor 9 (D9) assessment and, based on ESB data, to exemplarily assess D9 in the coastal marine regions of Germany whereby those contaminants are considered that are currently assessed under D9 and substances that may be relevant for D9 assessment in the future
– The requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD) regarding the geographical scale of D9 monitoring are only partly fulfilled: Of the catch or production area according to Art. 38 of Reg. (EU) No 1379/2013 (EC 2013b), only a section of the German coastal regions of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea are covered

Summary

Introduction

Marine environments are under massive pressure caused by anthropogenic exploitation and pollution. By 2020, a Good Environmental Status (GES) of the marine environment shall be achieved whereby the GES is defined as Bthe environmental status of marine waters where these provide ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive within their intrinsic conditions, and the use of the marine environment is at a level that is sustainable, safeguarding the potential for uses and activities by current and future generations...^ (EC 2008a) This definition implies an ecosystem-based approach of assessment that considers structure and function of marine ecosystems (Borja et al 2013; Walmsley et al 2017)

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