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UK water phosphorus levels set to increase
Marine Pollution Bulletin
fisheries were reported over this period and fishing on the Kerguelen Shelf was restricted to 2,722 tonnes of tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides). In addition, Total Allowable Catches (TAC) of tooth fish from the South Georgia area were not achieved due to early closure of the fishery. Despite these reductions, estimates of current biomass levels are about 30 percent of preexploitation levels. Antarctic krill catches are also down, but primarily as a result of reduced fishing effort by Russian and Ukranian vessels. In 1992/93, Russia and Ukraine took krill only in July and August around South Georgia. There was a combined total catch of 9,000 tonnes, compared to 300,000 tonnes caught in the previous season. Japan, Chile and Poland maintained their catch levels of krill in the 1992/93 season accounting for 79,000 tonnes in total.
UK Water Phosphorus Levels Set to Increase Potential for water pollution from agricultural phosphorus input is increasing in the UK according to research sponsored by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). The cause is modern farming methods and rising levels of phosphorus in soils. Sewage effluents are the largest source of phosphorus to rivers, the second largest input comes from agriculture, primarily from non-point sources. Phosphorus inputs to the environment have been the subject of international agreements at the ministerial conferences on the North Sea. Sources of phosphorus from sewage effluents should reduce in the future under the 1991 EEC Directive on Urban Wastewater Treatment. No such legislation applies to agricultural run off. Phosphorus from agricultural sources enters water courses in solution or as particulates. The soluble form results when phosphate in soil, vegetation, crop residues, fertilizers or manure dissolves in rain. Particulate phosphorus enters water courses as a result of erosion, particularly on arable land. In this form, it is not immediately available to promote algal growth and may add to the phosphate pool in sediments, thus forming a long-lined reservoir of phosphate which may cause eutrophication when re-mobilized. Annual phosphorus losses to waters from agricultural land can range from 5 to 80 kilograms/hectare. The largest losses are from cultivated soils rather than grassland, but grazing can increase phosphate losses depending on stocking density. Losses can be reduced by a variety of means, including no-till cultivation, winter cover crops, grassing over of valley floors, and the creation of buffer strips along water courses. Reduction of indigestible phosphate in animal feeds is also a possibility and it has been proposed that solubility lists of animal feeds should be required by EC legislation to ensure that only readily available phosphorus is used in feeds. 66
WWF Concern on Pesticide Pollution Some of the most toxic and persistent pollutants entering the marine environment result from synthetic pesticides used in agricultural production and in wood and textile preservation according to a recent report by World Wide Fund for Nature (VCVCF Marine Update, 13). It is estimated that more than 190,000 tons of agricultural pesticides and tens of thousands of tons of non-agricultural pesticides are released into the environment of the North Sea states annually, much of it reaching the sea. Although in the open sea, the exposure of organisms is difficult to measure, the report states that animals in the North Sea suffer from damage and deformities comparable to that known to be caused by pesticides. These include: reproductive failure and decline in dog whelks, growth problems in economically important oysters and reduced biodiversity of bottom dwelling communities caused by tributyl tin; increased disease rate of fish in highly polluted areas of the North Sea and coastal waters off the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany; malformation in dab and spinal deformities in herring; reduced marine mammal and bird breeding success and decline in sensitive species such as sturgeon and salmon (although other factors causing their decline are recognized). The WWF report calls for the North Sea States to draw up a national reduction programme in 1994, based on multiple parameters involving close collaboration between environment, health and agriculture departments or ministries. This should be embodied in an international strategy that would include: reduction and elimination of all biocides which are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate from the marine environment; substitution of pesticides by the active development and promotion of alternative safe means of pest control by integrated pest management and criteria specifying pesticides and permitted uses which favour the precautionary approach.
1991 SOLAS Amendments to Enter into Force Major amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, entered into force on 1 January 1994. The changes include a complete re-writing of Chapter VI which, at present, only covers the carriage of grain. Amendments will extend its coverage to other cargoes, including bulk cargoes. Other amendments will affect Chapter I1-2 which deals with fire safety, Chapter III (life-saving appliances), Chapter V (safety of navigation) and Chapter VII (carriage of dangerous goods). The amendments were all adopted in May 1991 at a meeting organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the United Nation's agency
fisheries were reported over this period and fishing on the Kerguelen Shelf was restricted to 2,722 tonnes of tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides). In addition, Total Allowable Catches (TAC) of tooth fish from the South Georgia area were not achieved due to early closure of the fishery. Despite these reductions, estimates of current biomass levels are about 30 percent of preexploitation levels. Antarctic krill catches are also down, but primarily as a result of reduced fishing effort by Russian and Ukranian vessels. In 1992/93, Russia and Ukraine took krill only in July and August around South Georgia. There was a combined total catch of 9,000 tonnes, compared to 300,000 tonnes caught in the previous season. Japan, Chile and Poland maintained their catch levels of krill in the 1992/93 season accounting for 79,000 tonnes in total.
UK Water Phosphorus Levels Set to Increase Potential for water pollution from agricultural phosphorus input is increasing in the UK according to research sponsored by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). The cause is modern farming methods and rising levels of phosphorus in soils. Sewage effluents are the largest source of phosphorus to rivers, the second largest input comes from agriculture, primarily from non-point sources. Phosphorus inputs to the environment have been the subject of international agreements at the ministerial conferences on the North Sea. Sources of phosphorus from sewage effluents should reduce in the future under the 1991 EEC Directive on Urban Wastewater Treatment. No such legislation applies to agricultural run off. Phosphorus from agricultural sources enters water courses in solution or as particulates. The soluble form results when phosphate in soil, vegetation, crop residues, fertilizers or manure dissolves in rain. Particulate phosphorus enters water courses as a result of erosion, particularly on arable land. In this form, it is not immediately available to promote algal growth and may add to the phosphate pool in sediments, thus forming a long-lined reservoir of phosphate which may cause eutrophication when re-mobilized. Annual phosphorus losses to waters from agricultural land can range from 5 to 80 kilograms/hectare. The largest losses are from cultivated soils rather than grassland, but grazing can increase phosphate losses depending on stocking density. Losses can be reduced by a variety of means, including no-till cultivation, winter cover crops, grassing over of valley floors, and the creation of buffer strips along water courses. Reduction of indigestible phosphate in animal feeds is also a possibility and it has been proposed that solubility lists of animal feeds should be required by EC legislation to ensure that only readily available phosphorus is used in feeds. 66
WWF Concern on Pesticide Pollution Some of the most toxic and persistent pollutants entering the marine environment result from synthetic pesticides used in agricultural production and in wood and textile preservation according to a recent report by World Wide Fund for Nature (VCVCF Marine Update, 13). It is estimated that more than 190,000 tons of agricultural pesticides and tens of thousands of tons of non-agricultural pesticides are released into the environment of the North Sea states annually, much of it reaching the sea. Although in the open sea, the exposure of organisms is difficult to measure, the report states that animals in the North Sea suffer from damage and deformities comparable to that known to be caused by pesticides. These include: reproductive failure and decline in dog whelks, growth problems in economically important oysters and reduced biodiversity of bottom dwelling communities caused by tributyl tin; increased disease rate of fish in highly polluted areas of the North Sea and coastal waters off the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany; malformation in dab and spinal deformities in herring; reduced marine mammal and bird breeding success and decline in sensitive species such as sturgeon and salmon (although other factors causing their decline are recognized). The WWF report calls for the North Sea States to draw up a national reduction programme in 1994, based on multiple parameters involving close collaboration between environment, health and agriculture departments or ministries. This should be embodied in an international strategy that would include: reduction and elimination of all biocides which are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate from the marine environment; substitution of pesticides by the active development and promotion of alternative safe means of pest control by integrated pest management and criteria specifying pesticides and permitted uses which favour the precautionary approach.
1991 SOLAS Amendments to Enter into Force Major amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, entered into force on 1 January 1994. The changes include a complete re-writing of Chapter VI which, at present, only covers the carriage of grain. Amendments will extend its coverage to other cargoes, including bulk cargoes. Other amendments will affect Chapter I1-2 which deals with fire safety, Chapter III (life-saving appliances), Chapter V (safety of navigation) and Chapter VII (carriage of dangerous goods). The amendments were all adopted in May 1991 at a meeting organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the United Nation's agency