Marine

  • IA2017 – Radioactive discharges from the nuclear sector have decreased

    31st July 2017 by

    OSPAR collects data on authorised discharges and environmental activity concentrations for several radionuclides. For the purpose of evaluation, OSPAR distinguishes those radionuclides that emit alpha radiation (total alpha activity) and those that emit beta radiation (total beta activity). Discharges from fuel reprocessing plants are much reduced but remain the dominant source of discharges from the…

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  • IA2017 – Fish communities show signs of recovery in some areas

    24th July 2017 by

    Fish communities form a major element of marine biodiversity and are a key feature in marine foodwebs. Fisheries can thus have a major impact on marine biodiversity. The last OSPAR Quality Status Report (QSR 2010) highlighted, among other issues, that depletion of key predator and prey species and disruption of the marine foodweb were worrying…

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  • IA2017 – Benthic habitats affected by bottom fisheries

    17th July 2017 by

    OSPAR is committed to protecting and conserving ecosystems and biodiversity through the management of human activities and is guided by an ecosystem-based approach. Benthic habitats play a key role in marine ecosystems because marine species rely directly or indirectly on the seafloor to feed, hide, rest or reproduce. The last OSPAR Quality Status Report (QSR…

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  • IA2017 – Marine birds in trouble

    10th July 2017 by

    Marine birds are valuable indicators of ecosystem condition. OSPAR assesses the abundance and breeding success of marine birds. In the Norwegian Arctic, the Greater North Sea and the Celtic Seas, there has been a considerable (>20%) drop in abundance compared to the levels observed 25 years ago, for more than a quarter of the marine…

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  • Keeping an eye on the coastline with SCObs

    23rd January 2017 by

    Scientists in Marine Scotland, along with a small group of voluntary citizen-scientists, have been monitoring the physics, chemistry and biology at multiple sites in Scotland’s coastal waters since 1997. The sites monitored, shown on the left, include Millport, Mallaig, Loch   Maddy, Loch Ewe, Scapa, Fair Isle, Scalloway, Cromarty, East Coast and Stonehaven. Consistent ecological time series of data…

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