Co-Convenors: Kris Cooreman (ICES/Belgium), Peter Kershaw (GESAMP/UK), Olga Lukyanova (PICES/Russia) and Peter Ross (PICES/Canada)

Invited Speakers:
Joel Baker (University Washington Tacoma, U.S.A.)
Chris Cooreman (Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Belgium)
Peter Kershaw (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, UK)
Annamalai Subramanian (Ehime University, Japan)

Many anthropogenic pollutants impact marine environmental quality, with coastal zones being particularly vulnerable. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a concern because they magnify in food webs and present health risks to humans and wildlife. Other chemicals are less persistent, but may nonetheless impact the health of biota. While some pollution indicators are ensconced into monitoring and management regimes in different nations over space and time, new pollutant concerns may not yet be captured by existing protocols. These include “micro-plastics”, the breakdown products of debris and other forms of structural pollutants, which can clog the gills of invertebrates and fish, and asphyxiate seabirds and marine mammals. In addition, these micro-plastics may adsorb some of the other chemical contaminants and transfer them to marine organisms. This workshop will review ways in which chemical and structural pollutants enter the marine environment, are transported through ocean currents and/or biological transport, and impact marine biota. The workshop will critically review several examples of pollution indicators used by different nations, as a basis for improving and/or expanding indicator approaches in the North Pacific Ocean. These examples will also critically evaluate the extent to which changing baselines (e.g., climate variability) may impact on source/transport/fate processes and effects on biota, and recommend means of improving the utility and reliability of current indicator / monitoring approaches in a changing world. The objectives of this workshop are to:
(1) Critically review 3-5 examples of currently used indicators of marine contamination in different PICES member nations (e.g., shellfish monitoring of PAHs, metals, persistent organic pollutants, fecal bacteria; POPs in seabird eggs and marine mammals); List advantages and disadvantages for each, and describe management/ policy linkages; Consider the influence of changing climate on indicator performance and ways to address this.
(2) Review emergent pollutant concerns and in particular, examine the topic of plastics and micro-plastics as structural pollutants and as mechanisms for the transfer of contaminants to marine biota; Examine existing and/ or new opportunities to establish indicator approaches to plastic pollution, and review sampling and analytical methods.
(3) From these applied examples/case studies, identify opportunities for future PICES activities on the topic of marine pollution: a). evaluate feasibility of establishing Study Group on Marine Contaminants, including terms of reference, membership, and deliverables;
b). description of the scope of PICES/FUTURE activities that focus on contaminants in the North Pacific marine environment;
c). update and revise MEQ Action Plan elements on marine contaminants;
d). identify potential interactions with IOC/ICES/GESAMP/NOWPAP/NOAA programs that focus on contaminants in the marine environment.