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Law of the sea
Volume 6/Number 8/August 1975
conference, and that it will be much easier to amend clauses in the texts than to insert new clauses. The fourth meeting of the conference is planned to start in New York on 29 March 1976 and to last 8 weeks, and contingency plans are being made for a fifth meeting later the same year. Meanwhile national governments have a year to think about their positions, and to have informal talks with other governments. Everyon[ is hoping that there will be no unilateral action by any state, but with some American companies eager to start deep-sea mining, and with other countries wishing to protect their fishing fleets by extending their fishing limits, it is an uneasy'truce.
Ship-related Pollution Symposium The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships was agreed upon in 1973, but has yet to be fully implemented. One problem has been some of the technical issues involved in the new provisions, and therefore IMCO, in association with the Government of Mexico, is to sponsor a technical symposium on prevention of marine pollution from ships. It will be held in Acapulco from 22 to 31 March 1976. The aim is to discuss the various implications of the convention, (scientific, technical and economic) and to exchange views on the means of complying with the convention's requirements. Topics to be discussed will include all the special features in the design, construction, equipment and operation of ships resulting from the requirements of the convention. Also to be discussed Will be the construction and operation of adequate reception facilities for residues containing pollutants; the detection of violations of the convention; and methods of combating spillage of harmful substances. It is hoped that the symposium will help not only developing countries, but all those concerned with the implementation and enforcement of the new provisions. The meeting will be open to interested authorities, institutions, industries and individuals, and papers are requested from persons actively engaged in work on any of the symposium topics. For further details contact: IMCO Secretariat, 101-104 Piccadilly, London WlV 0AE.
International Environmental Law Conference The British Institute of International and Comparative Law is to hold an international conference on contemporary problems in international environmental law in London from 1 to 3 September 1975. Themes for discussion will include (1) European measures for the protection of fresh waters; (2) the individual and the control of environmental planning, and (3) control of the pollution of harbours and coastal waters. There will be speakers from Western Europe, Eastern Europe and North America, as well as those representing international and regional organizations and agencies. For details of the programme write to: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 32 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1JN.
IAWPR 1976 Conference The International Association on Water Pollution Research are to hold their 8th International Conference in Sydney, Australia from 17 to 22 October 1976. There will be technical sessions on a wide variety of topics including biological monitoring parameters and their characterization, marine ecology, estuarine pollution surveys, pipeline disposal to sea and pollution from oil and offshore materials resources development. Workshop sessions will review progress and discuss current problems on water resource quality management, marine and estuarine waste disposal, and ultimate disposal of solid and liquid wastes. Those wishing to submit papers should contact: Dr S. H. Jenkins, Chairman, Programme Committee of the IAWPR, c/o Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 0BW.
1976 Joint Oceanographic Assembly The 1976 Joint Oceanographic Assembly is to be held in Edinburgh from 13 to 24 September 1976. Sponsored by SCOR[IAPSO/IABO/CMG/ACMRR/ACOMR/ECOR and the Royal Society, it will include symposia on natural variations in the marine environment; man and the sea; ocean engineering; geoscience, minerals, and petroleum; and controlled ecosystem experiments. For further details contact: Joint Oceanographic Assembly 1976, c/o Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ, Scotland.
Red Tide off NE England A red tide outbreak has been reported around the Farne Islands on the Northumberland coast of England. A similar incident in the same area was reported in spring 1968. Raised levels of toxin are reported in mussels since midMay, and dead sand eels are said to have been washed up on the beaches. About 350 pairs of Shags are also reported to be missing from colonies on the Farne Islands, and Cormorants, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns have been found dead in the area. So far colonies further north in the Firth of Forth and in Aberdeenshire seem unaffected.
Law of the Sea The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), in association with Oceana Publications Inc., has produced four volumes of documents under the general title of 'New Directions in the Law of the Sea'. They include the relevant international treaties, extracts from national legislation, resolutions and declarations on fisheries, pollution and environmental problems, jurisdictional disputes, claims for territorial waters and the continental shelf etc. 115
Marine Pollution Bulletin
One volume contains edited papers of the BIICL international conference on 'New Directions in the Law of the Sea', held in London in February 1973. The set of four volumes is available for £33, or volumes can be purchased separately. For details contact: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 32 Fumival Street, London EC4A 1JN.
FAO Pollution Manual One outcome of the 1970 FAO technical conference on Marine Pollution and its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing, was the collaboration of the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) with FAO in developing a series of training courses in the field of marine pollution. Three courses have already been held, and there is to be a fourth in autumn 1975. The second course was arranged for research workers from developing countries and was oriented towards planning and conduct of research and monitoring activities, giving training in techniques and equipment currently used for the detection, measurement and monitoring of pollutants in the aquatic environment. FAO has now produced a manual, mainly based on papers presented at that training course. It is divided into a theoretical part with papers on general aspects and problems of analyzing aquatic samples, and a practical part describing methods for measuring physical and chemical parameters, including the different classes of pollutants in the aquatic environment. The manual has had a restricted distribution. (FAO Manual of methods in aquatic environment research. Part I. Methods for detection, measurement and monitoring of water pollution. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 137,238pp., 1975).
the pollution of the environment. The main annual report appears in Japanese, but there is also a shorter version in English, including selected papers from the main report. This English edition includes a paper on the water quality of Tokyo Bay, an area of 1000 km 2 . Twenty per cent of Japan's population lives within reach of the Bay, and the industrial plants, whose effluents go into the rivers bordering the bay, account for 27 per cent of the nation's total production. The three prefectures bordering the bay, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa, have cooperated in a three year study of the bay, to collect data on the state of pollution and to help formulate measures to abate water pollution in the area. The paper concludes that some areas of the bay close to the shore are permanently polluted, and that others further offshore are affected at certain times of the year. Measures suggested include reducing the inflow of organic matter, and reducing the inflow of nitrogen and phosphorus. (Annual Report of the Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute for Environmental Protection, 1975. 2-7-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
European Environmental Regulations Stichting CONCAWE has published a new survey of environmental regulations of concern to the oil industry in Western Europe. It includes tables of standard specifications and legal limits for gasoline composition and quality, regulations on refinery effluents, regulations, standards, technical requirements and codes of practice for the design, construction and operation of oil pipelines, and much other useful information. Copies of the report, No. 6/75 are available free from: Stichting CONCAWE, 60 Van Hogenhoucklaan, The Hague, 2018, Netherlands.
Celtic Sea Oil It now seems likely that drilling in the UK sector of the Celtic Sea will really get going this summer. Some companies are being very tight-lipped about their plans, but Amoco have said that, providing uncertainties over the availability of a rig could be overcome, they hoped to get started in early summer. Along with several other licensees, they are also exploring the possibilities of sharing a rig, bearing in mind the rapidly escalating costs of exploration, and the distance from the main centre of operations in the North Sea. It is thought that the British Gas Corporation, the French state-backed Elf Exploration, and Shell Expro may also get started this year. The British Gas Corporation is hoping to drill two or three wells in their Morecambe Bay blocks later this year, and also to start work in a block off Fishguard, while Shell is thought to be waiting for their semi-submersible Staflo to finish work in the North Sea before transferring it to the Celtic Sea.
Tokyo Annual Report The Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute for Environmental Protection has recently produced its annual report, detailing through papers on a wide variety of pollution subjects, the city's efforts to monitor, remove and prevent 116
Pollution from Artificial Reefs? Rubber tyres have been used for a number of years in the construction of artificial reefs, to encourage populations of reef fish for sport fishing in areas lacking a rough bottom. For example there are now over 100 artificial reefs off the East coast of the United States. As the number of tyre reefs has increased, some scientists have asked whether any toxic materials in the tyres might leach out into the seawater and pollute or harm the fish. At last some research has been done in the United States, and the results have been recently published. (Mar. Fish. Rev., 37, (3), 18-20, 1975). Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)and black sea bass (Centropristis striata) were put in tanks containing tyres and analyzed for zinc, organochlorine pesticides and PCB's after periods of from 3 to 15 weeks. (It was thought that the tyres might become contaminated with PCB's and pesticides during their use or after being discarded). In another experiment holes were cut in the tyres to increase water circulation. No change with time was found in the levels of PCB's, organochlorine pesticides and zinc between the control and experimental fish, and the authors of the paper conclude that as field studies of tyre reefs demonstrate their potential to increase coastal fishery resources,
conference, and that it will be much easier to amend clauses in the texts than to insert new clauses. The fourth meeting of the conference is planned to start in New York on 29 March 1976 and to last 8 weeks, and contingency plans are being made for a fifth meeting later the same year. Meanwhile national governments have a year to think about their positions, and to have informal talks with other governments. Everyon[ is hoping that there will be no unilateral action by any state, but with some American companies eager to start deep-sea mining, and with other countries wishing to protect their fishing fleets by extending their fishing limits, it is an uneasy'truce.
Ship-related Pollution Symposium The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships was agreed upon in 1973, but has yet to be fully implemented. One problem has been some of the technical issues involved in the new provisions, and therefore IMCO, in association with the Government of Mexico, is to sponsor a technical symposium on prevention of marine pollution from ships. It will be held in Acapulco from 22 to 31 March 1976. The aim is to discuss the various implications of the convention, (scientific, technical and economic) and to exchange views on the means of complying with the convention's requirements. Topics to be discussed will include all the special features in the design, construction, equipment and operation of ships resulting from the requirements of the convention. Also to be discussed Will be the construction and operation of adequate reception facilities for residues containing pollutants; the detection of violations of the convention; and methods of combating spillage of harmful substances. It is hoped that the symposium will help not only developing countries, but all those concerned with the implementation and enforcement of the new provisions. The meeting will be open to interested authorities, institutions, industries and individuals, and papers are requested from persons actively engaged in work on any of the symposium topics. For further details contact: IMCO Secretariat, 101-104 Piccadilly, London WlV 0AE.
International Environmental Law Conference The British Institute of International and Comparative Law is to hold an international conference on contemporary problems in international environmental law in London from 1 to 3 September 1975. Themes for discussion will include (1) European measures for the protection of fresh waters; (2) the individual and the control of environmental planning, and (3) control of the pollution of harbours and coastal waters. There will be speakers from Western Europe, Eastern Europe and North America, as well as those representing international and regional organizations and agencies. For details of the programme write to: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 32 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1JN.
IAWPR 1976 Conference The International Association on Water Pollution Research are to hold their 8th International Conference in Sydney, Australia from 17 to 22 October 1976. There will be technical sessions on a wide variety of topics including biological monitoring parameters and their characterization, marine ecology, estuarine pollution surveys, pipeline disposal to sea and pollution from oil and offshore materials resources development. Workshop sessions will review progress and discuss current problems on water resource quality management, marine and estuarine waste disposal, and ultimate disposal of solid and liquid wastes. Those wishing to submit papers should contact: Dr S. H. Jenkins, Chairman, Programme Committee of the IAWPR, c/o Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 0BW.
1976 Joint Oceanographic Assembly The 1976 Joint Oceanographic Assembly is to be held in Edinburgh from 13 to 24 September 1976. Sponsored by SCOR[IAPSO/IABO/CMG/ACMRR/ACOMR/ECOR and the Royal Society, it will include symposia on natural variations in the marine environment; man and the sea; ocean engineering; geoscience, minerals, and petroleum; and controlled ecosystem experiments. For further details contact: Joint Oceanographic Assembly 1976, c/o Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ, Scotland.
Red Tide off NE England A red tide outbreak has been reported around the Farne Islands on the Northumberland coast of England. A similar incident in the same area was reported in spring 1968. Raised levels of toxin are reported in mussels since midMay, and dead sand eels are said to have been washed up on the beaches. About 350 pairs of Shags are also reported to be missing from colonies on the Farne Islands, and Cormorants, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns have been found dead in the area. So far colonies further north in the Firth of Forth and in Aberdeenshire seem unaffected.
Law of the Sea The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), in association with Oceana Publications Inc., has produced four volumes of documents under the general title of 'New Directions in the Law of the Sea'. They include the relevant international treaties, extracts from national legislation, resolutions and declarations on fisheries, pollution and environmental problems, jurisdictional disputes, claims for territorial waters and the continental shelf etc. 115
Marine Pollution Bulletin
One volume contains edited papers of the BIICL international conference on 'New Directions in the Law of the Sea', held in London in February 1973. The set of four volumes is available for £33, or volumes can be purchased separately. For details contact: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 32 Fumival Street, London EC4A 1JN.
FAO Pollution Manual One outcome of the 1970 FAO technical conference on Marine Pollution and its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing, was the collaboration of the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) with FAO in developing a series of training courses in the field of marine pollution. Three courses have already been held, and there is to be a fourth in autumn 1975. The second course was arranged for research workers from developing countries and was oriented towards planning and conduct of research and monitoring activities, giving training in techniques and equipment currently used for the detection, measurement and monitoring of pollutants in the aquatic environment. FAO has now produced a manual, mainly based on papers presented at that training course. It is divided into a theoretical part with papers on general aspects and problems of analyzing aquatic samples, and a practical part describing methods for measuring physical and chemical parameters, including the different classes of pollutants in the aquatic environment. The manual has had a restricted distribution. (FAO Manual of methods in aquatic environment research. Part I. Methods for detection, measurement and monitoring of water pollution. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 137,238pp., 1975).
the pollution of the environment. The main annual report appears in Japanese, but there is also a shorter version in English, including selected papers from the main report. This English edition includes a paper on the water quality of Tokyo Bay, an area of 1000 km 2 . Twenty per cent of Japan's population lives within reach of the Bay, and the industrial plants, whose effluents go into the rivers bordering the bay, account for 27 per cent of the nation's total production. The three prefectures bordering the bay, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa, have cooperated in a three year study of the bay, to collect data on the state of pollution and to help formulate measures to abate water pollution in the area. The paper concludes that some areas of the bay close to the shore are permanently polluted, and that others further offshore are affected at certain times of the year. Measures suggested include reducing the inflow of organic matter, and reducing the inflow of nitrogen and phosphorus. (Annual Report of the Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute for Environmental Protection, 1975. 2-7-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
European Environmental Regulations Stichting CONCAWE has published a new survey of environmental regulations of concern to the oil industry in Western Europe. It includes tables of standard specifications and legal limits for gasoline composition and quality, regulations on refinery effluents, regulations, standards, technical requirements and codes of practice for the design, construction and operation of oil pipelines, and much other useful information. Copies of the report, No. 6/75 are available free from: Stichting CONCAWE, 60 Van Hogenhoucklaan, The Hague, 2018, Netherlands.
Celtic Sea Oil It now seems likely that drilling in the UK sector of the Celtic Sea will really get going this summer. Some companies are being very tight-lipped about their plans, but Amoco have said that, providing uncertainties over the availability of a rig could be overcome, they hoped to get started in early summer. Along with several other licensees, they are also exploring the possibilities of sharing a rig, bearing in mind the rapidly escalating costs of exploration, and the distance from the main centre of operations in the North Sea. It is thought that the British Gas Corporation, the French state-backed Elf Exploration, and Shell Expro may also get started this year. The British Gas Corporation is hoping to drill two or three wells in their Morecambe Bay blocks later this year, and also to start work in a block off Fishguard, while Shell is thought to be waiting for their semi-submersible Staflo to finish work in the North Sea before transferring it to the Celtic Sea.
Tokyo Annual Report The Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute for Environmental Protection has recently produced its annual report, detailing through papers on a wide variety of pollution subjects, the city's efforts to monitor, remove and prevent 116
Pollution from Artificial Reefs? Rubber tyres have been used for a number of years in the construction of artificial reefs, to encourage populations of reef fish for sport fishing in areas lacking a rough bottom. For example there are now over 100 artificial reefs off the East coast of the United States. As the number of tyre reefs has increased, some scientists have asked whether any toxic materials in the tyres might leach out into the seawater and pollute or harm the fish. At last some research has been done in the United States, and the results have been recently published. (Mar. Fish. Rev., 37, (3), 18-20, 1975). Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)and black sea bass (Centropristis striata) were put in tanks containing tyres and analyzed for zinc, organochlorine pesticides and PCB's after periods of from 3 to 15 weeks. (It was thought that the tyres might become contaminated with PCB's and pesticides during their use or after being discarded). In another experiment holes were cut in the tyres to increase water circulation. No change with time was found in the levels of PCB's, organochlorine pesticides and zinc between the control and experimental fish, and the authors of the paper conclude that as field studies of tyre reefs demonstrate their potential to increase coastal fishery resources,