This article asks whether the abandonment of drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) is illegal under international marine pollution law. To answer this question, it provides a brief overview of the general international legal framework for the protection of the marine environment as well as specific legal regimes, namely the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LC), its 1996 Protocol (LP), and Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The article concludes that the abandonment of dFADs contravenes the LC/LP and/or, depending on the preferred interpretation, MARPOL Annex V. The decision as to which of the two regimes is applicable depends on whether dFAD abandonment can be classified as ‘incidental to, or derived from the normal operations of vessels … and their equipment’ or not. The negligent loss of dFADs always violates MARPOL Annex V. The article also shows that certain state practice and opinio juris suggests a parallel applicability of the two regimes with respect to deliberate dFAD abandonment. While such a development would ensure more comprehensive coverage of the relevant standards and prohibitions, a clear regulatory decision as to which of the two regimes is the correct one would be preferable from an implementation and enforcement perspective.

There is a complex interaction between pollution, climate change, the environment and people. This complex interplay of actions and impacts is particularly relevant in coastal regions, where the land meets the sea. To achieve sustainable development in coastal systems, a better understanding is necessary of the role and impact of pollution and the connectedness of the elements, namely, pollution, climate and the people, as well as associated impacts unfolding in an integrated social–ecological system (SES). In this context, the enabling capacity of tools connecting scientific efforts to societal demands is much debated. This paper establishes the basis for climate-smart socially innovative tools and approaches for marine pollution science. The goal of developing a set of innovative tools is twofold: first, to build on, integrate, and further improve the well-founded strengths in diagnosis and process understanding of systemic environmental problems; and, second, to provide decision-making with usable information to create actionable knowledge for managing the impact of marine pollution on the SES under a changing climate. The paper concludes by establishing the scope for a ‘last mile’ approach incorporating scientific evidence of pollution under climate change conditions into decision-making in a SES on the coast. The paper uses case studies to demonstrate the need for collaborative tools to connect the science of coastal pollution and climate with decision-making on managing human activities in a SES.

Marine plastic pollution is a global environmental concern. With reference to approaches in contemporary archaeology, object biographies and psychology, this article presents the application of a novel participatory (‘World Café’) methodology that aims both to understand how marine plastic pollution occurs and to demonstrate the value of the approach for encouraging behaviour change. As proof of concept, the authors present the preliminary results of fieldwork involving local people in the Galápagos archipelago to demonstrate the benefits of an archaeological approach in developing new frameworks to help mitigate this critical environmental threat.

The origin and development of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is described on the occasion of the publication of the 100th volume. Papers in the Journal demonstrate how the techniques and approaches to the study of the marine environment have evolved over the 120 years of publication. The early papers provided a baseline description of the marine environment and of marine communities that allowed the effects of later perturbations of the environment to be determined. Both the early papers and the long time series of records have proved to be particularly relevant as marine scientists try to predict the long-term results of climatic and anthropogenic effects on the marine ecosystem. The Journal has now become increasingly international, with most papers coming from outside Europe.

Worldwide, infectious diseases represent a leading cause of death and disability. Exposure to the ocean, whether through recreation or occupation, represents a potentially significant, but poorly understood, source of infectious diseases in man. This review describes the potential mechanisms whereby marine bathing could lead to infectious diseases in man. Sources of pathogens in the marine environment are described, including human sewage, animal sources, fellow bathers and indigenous marine organisms. The epidemiological evidence for the association between marine bathing and infectious disease is presented, including a consideration of the differing relationship between faecal indicator bacteria levels and illness at point source compared with non-point source settings. Estimating the burden of infectious disease is reliant on public health surveillance, both formal and informal, which is described from a UK perspective in this review. Potential emerging threats at the marine–human interface are discussed, including infections caused by Shewanella and Vibrio bacteria, and the presence of human pathogens in the marine environment that are resistant to antimicrobials.

The gastropod Buccinanops globulosus is commonly used as a bioindicator of tributyltin (TBT) contamination due to its high imposex incidence in maritime traffic areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate both oxidative stress in B. globulosus at three sites with different maritime activity, and imposex incidence in Nuevo Gulf, Argentina. Oxidative stress parameters in digestive glands, like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities, reduced glutathione levels (GSH), and oxidative damage to lipids, estimated as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) as well as imposex parameters (% imposex and female penis length (FPL)) were measured in females. Gastropods from the harbour area showed 100% imposex, the highest FPL and TBARs content, as well as GSH levels and SOD activity.

The different oxidative stress responses and high imposex incidence at the harbour site may indicate a negative effect on the organism's physiological state due to environmental pollution.

Within the global oil shipping sector, flag states that inadequately fulfil obligations to effectively exert jurisdiction over vessels flying their flags have been criticized for facilitating the existence of substandard ships. This paper examines the topic of flag-use and its potential association with oil spill risk. Flags most associated with accidental oil spills were identified through comparing the flag composition of the global oil tanker fleet with that of vessels that have been involved in the 100 largest tanker spills on record. Vessels flying flags of states that have exhibited consistent patterns of failure in compliance with international obligations, defined here as ‘flags of non-compliance’ (FoNCs), were found to be significantly more common amongst the vessels that have been involved in spill incidents. However, this was dependent on how the Liberian flag was qualified throughout the time period considered. If measures are being sought to reduce the risk of tanker involvement in large-scale oil spills further, vessel owners should be deterred from registering with FoNCs that are highly accessible to foreign owners, and political measures should be taken to put pressure on flag states that operate all other FoNCs to improve effective jurisdiction over ships flying these flags.

Despite small direct anthropic/anthropogenic influence, Antarctica cannot be considered out of the reach of pollutants. The present study evaluated the distribution and transfer of the following organic pollutants: PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in invertebrates, fish, bird eggs and liver samples from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetland Islands. The prevailing compounds were (in ng g-1 wet weight for species averages): PCBs up to 1821 for birds, 6.82 for fish and 41.3 for invertebrates, HCB (hexachlorobenzene) up to 69.8 for birds, 0.66 for fish and 0.56 for invertebrates and DDTs (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) up to 524 for birds, 3.04 for fish and 0.74 for invertebrates. PBDEs (detected only in bird eggs and liver, up to 39.1 and 7.95, respectively) occurred in levels one or two orders of magnitude lower than organochlorines, probably due to the lower and more recent usage of PBDEs. The qualitative profiles of PCBs agree with trophic level and diet data. PBDEs showed small difference in composition when compared to the technical product available in the Americas, especially in endemic species, which could indicate that fractionation does not have a major role for this contaminant group. Trophic level, but also and more importantly, diet, range, ecological niche and “growth dilution” effect explain the variation of pollutants concentrations found in this study.

Diverse chemical and biological processes in the oceans and atmosphere, the planet's most global domains, determine the fate and effects of marine contaminants and outbreaks of marine nuisance species. Understanding these problems requires the identification of environmental variables that influence ecological and human effects, the ability to predict spatial and temporal occurrences, and development of integrative interdisciplinary and mechanistic models for predicting their occurrences and severity. These endeavours require collaborative efforts of physical, chemical, biological and biomedical scientists working in interdisciplinary teams. There are numerous examples of interdisciplinary research conducted in marine systems on marine contaminants, including those contaminants released from the Earth's crust by human activities, those that are almost exclusively man-made in origin, and those that are biological contaminants often exacerbated by human activities. While interdisciplinary teams of researchers have greatly advanced the study of marine systems in some of these areas, there are still many barriers to interdisciplinary approaches in marine science, including disciplinary biases and institutional structures. A number of mechanisms are recommended that could support and enhance the ability of researchers to conduct interdisciplinary research in marine science, including the establishment of core facilities that can be used to support different teams of collaborating scientists, establishment of appropriate organizational structures, and promotion of seminars and symposia that emphasize interdisciplinary approaches.

In order to establish the environmental status of areas close to Antarctic stations it is necessary to document levels of contaminants present in these sites. Several petrogenic and pyrogenic sources have been reported for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Antarctica. In this work, levels of 25 PAHs were measured in suspended particulate matter (SPM), surface sediment and marine organisms (fish Notothenia coriiceps, bivalve Laternula elliptica and gastropod Nacella concinna) from Potter Cove. Total PAH levels from SPM were low and similar in all sites studied (30–82 ng g-1 dw), phenanthrene being the dominant compound (68–84%). The exception was an area close to the wharf where significantly higher values of light PAHs such as naphthalene, acenaphthylene, 2,3,5-trimethylnaphthalene and fluorene were detected, indicating the influence of recent fuel spills. PAH concentrations in surface sediments were generally low (37–252 ng g-1 dw) except for two sites (1762 and 1908 ng g-1 dw) which suggested an accumulation process associated with the water circulation pattern. Liver tissue of N coriiceps presented significantly higher PAH levels (257 ng g-1 dw) compared with gonads. The pattern of individual compounds from substrates and organisms suggests a petrogenic and low-temperature combustion origin.

We present the result of a milk analysis collected from a dead female of Sotalia guianensis (191 cm) incidentally captured in gill-net fishery together with its calf (70 cm) in November 2002, in Barra de São João, east coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The organochlorine pesticides with the highest concentration were endosulfan1 (5.86 ng g–1), followed by p-p′DDT (4.89 ng g–1), dieldrin (2.55 ng g–1) and HCB (2.41 ng g–1). These results show the high environmental persistency of these contaminants, and the transference capacity from the mother to the calf during lactation.

Eight major reviews are cited to indicate a recent knowledge explosion on the use of marine parasites as potential indicators of pollution. A literature update is given for the period 1995–2001. An analysis of the publications cited is used to provide 10 refined criteria for selecting parasites as indicator/monitor species. Previously unpublished data on Diclidophora merlangi and Dictyocotyle coeliaca confirm their value as potential indicators of hydrocarbon pollution in the North Sea. An extensive knowledge of D. merlangi is summarised to emphasize its potential value as an indicator species and also to encourage studies on the health status and immune responses of its host when subjected to pollutant stressors and infection with this monogenean. A discussion focuses on publications which have reported significant recent advances in this area of research and also on accompanying issues, problems and controversies. These selected publications are used to suggest species, stages in the development of species and assemblages of species worthy of further more detailed investigations into their value as indicators/monitors of pollution. It is predicted that further good progress will be made when contaminants can be accurately identified, their precise effects on both host and parasite can be measured by histochemical and biological methods and the roles of contaminants and parasites in causing disease can be assessed separately. About 100 references are cited.

Entre marzo de 1986 y junio de 1987 se estudió et contenido de hierro, zinc y manganeso en partes duras y hierro, cobre, zinc y mercurio en gónadas del erizo de mar Echinometra lucunter, collectado en sitios del litoral rocoso habanero son diferente grado de contaminación metálica. Se obtuvieron variaciones estacionales y los resultados procesados mediante el análisis de varianza y el de clasificación automática, mostraron diferencias entre los sitios estudiados, que permiten considerar a este organismo como capaz de reflejar la contaminación por hierro y mercurio en sus gónadas y por los tres meules estudiados en sus partes duras.