The Black Sea is a semi-enclosed basin subject to major anthropogenic pressures, including marine litter and plastic pollution. Due to numerous large rivers draining into the basin and a population settled along the coast, the region could accumulate significant amounts of floating litter over time. Until now, only limited field data were available, and litter quantities and distribution remained unknown. In this study, floating marine macro litter (FMML) was assessed at the regional Black Sea scale for the first time, showing relatively high litter densities across the basin that reached a weighted mean of 81.5 items/km(2). Monitoring data revealed an accumulation of floating items offshore in the eastern part of the basin, resembling on a small scale a "garbage patch', where litter items were trapped, showing elevated densities in comparison to their surrounding areas. Most of these items were made of plastic materials (ca. 96%) and included large numbers of plastic and poly-styrene fragments of small size ranges (2.5-10 cm). Harmonised field data collection through consistent and regular monitoring programmes across the region is essential to establish baselines and thresholds for large scale assessment at international level.

Monitoring plastic in stomachs of beached northern fulmars for OSPAR’s Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) has been incorporated into the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). This paper aims to provide the appropriate tools to interpret the monitoring results. MSFD requires a data-derived threshold value (Fulmar-TV) representing ‘Good Environmental Status’. Such Fulmar-TV was calculated from near-pristine Ca- nadian Arctic data where 10.06% of fulmars exceeded the level of 0.1 g ingested plastic. This Fulmar-TV is almost identical to the earlier OSPAR EcoQO, arbitrarily set at 10%. The MSFD approach was evaluated for 2661 North Sea fulmars in 2002–2018. Between 2014 and 2018, 51% of 393 fulmars exceeded 0.1 g plastic, significantly above the proposed Fulmar-TV. Linear regression of individual ingested plastic mass over the 2009–2018 period indicates a significant decrease. Over the longer term 2002–2018, logistic regression of annual EcoQ% shows a significant decline and predicts compliance with the Fulmar-TV by 2054. Fulmarus glacialis Marine litter monitoring OSPAR-EcoQO EU-MSFD-GES Threshold-value Fulmar-TV | publishedVersion

Poly and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are ubiquitously detected all around the world. Herein, for the first time, concentrations of 16 selected legacy and emerging PFASs are reported for sediment and edible fish collected from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Mean concentrations varied from 0.57 to 2.6 μg kg−1 dry weight (dw) in sediment, 3.89–7.63 μg kg−1 dw in fish muscle, and 17.9–58.5 μg kg−1 dw in fish liver. Wastewater treatment plant effluents represented the main source of these compounds and contributed to the exposure of PFAS to biota. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the most abundant compound in sediment and fish tissues analysed, comprising between 42 and 99% of the ∑16PFAS. The short chain perfluorobutanoate (PFBA) was the second most dominant compound in sediment and was detected at a maximum concentration of 0.64 μg kg−1 dw. PFAS levels and patterns differed between tissues of investigated fish species. Across all fish species, ∑16PFAS concentrations in liver were significantly higher than in muscle by a factor ranging from 3 to 7 depending on fish species and size. The PFOS replacements fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS) and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) exhibited a bioaccumulation potential in several fish species and 6:2 FTS, was detected at a maximum concentration of 7.1 ± 3.3 μg kg−1 dw in a doublespotted queenfish (Scomberoides lysan) liver. PFBS was detected at a maximum concentration of 2.65 μg kg−1 dw in strong spine silver-biddy (Gerres longirostris) liver. The calculated dietary intake of PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) exceeded the safety threshold established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2020 in doublespotted queenfish muscle, indicating a potential health risk to humans consuming this fish in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. | publishedVersion

External damages are indicators of the overall quality of fish and fish welfare. Haddock is an important commercial species widespread in the North Atlantic, but few studies related to quality have been carried out on this species. We studied the levels of external damages on haddock captured with a demersal trawl in the Northeast Atlantic. Further, we investigated to what extent the compulsory sorting grid and diamond mesh codend gear configuration employed in this trawl fishery is responsible for the external damages observed during the capture process. We evaluated external damages on 563 haddock captured over 22 hauls. In general, the results showed that catching haddock without any gear inflicted damages using demersal trawls is challenging. However, the results also showed that the severity of most damages is low and the probability to catch haddock with no external damage can be significantly increased removing the grid and changing codend design. | publishedVersion

External damages are indicators of the overall quality of fish and fish welfare. Haddock is an important commercial species widespread in the North Atlantic, but few studies related to quality have been carried out on this species. We studied the levels of external damages on haddock captured with a demersal trawl in the Northeast Atlantic. Further, we investigated to what extent the compulsory sorting grid and diamond mesh codend gear configuration employed in this trawl fishery is responsible for the external damages observed during the capture process. We evaluated external damages on 563 haddock captured over 22 hauls. In general, the results showed that catching haddock without any gear inflicted damages using demersal trawls is challenging. However, the results also showed that the severity of most damages is low and the probability to catch haddock with no external damage can be significantly increased removing the grid and changing codend design. | publishedVersion

Increasing anthropogenic activities in the Arctic represent an enhanced threat for oil pollution in a marine environment that is already at risk from climate warming. In particular, this applies to species with free-living pelagic larvae that aggregate in surface waters and under the sea ice where hydrocarbons are likely to remain for extended periods of time due to low temperatures. We exposed the positively buoyant eggs of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), an arctic keystone species, to realistic concentrations of a crude oil water-soluble fraction (WSF), mimicking exposure of eggs aggregating under the ice to oil WSF leaking from brine channels following encapsulation in ice. Total hydrocarbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels were in the ng/L range, with most exposure concentrations below the limits of detection throughout the experiment for all treatments. The proportion of viable, free-swimming larvae decreased significantly with dose and showed increases in the incidence and severity of spine curvature, yolk sac alterations and a reduction in spine length. These effects are expected to compromise the motility, feeding capacity, and predator avoidance during critical early life stages for this important species. Our results imply that the viability and fitness of polar cod early life stages is significantly reduced when exposed to extremely low and environmentally realistic levels of aqueous hydrocarbons, which may have important implications for arctic food web dynamics and ecosystem functioning.

The SOLEPUR process for the treatment of pig slurry, using soil as a treatment medium, was developed in France. This process decreased the COD of pig slurry by 99,9% bound 99,9% of the phosphorus and removed approximately 80% of the nitrogen. The remaining nitrogen was oxidized in the soil into nitrate and leached out in drainage water. The process of denitrification was selected to remove nitrate from the leachate and raw pig slurry was used as an external carbon source. The field and laboratory experiments demonstrated efficient denitrification of nitrate-rich leachate at an appropriate carbon/nitrogen ratio. Although nitrite appeared during denitrification as a transient product, it was effectively removed by the en of denitrification. Depending on the C/N ratio, the process of denitrification was accomplished after between 7 and 60 days and the denitrification rate varied between 0,5 and 1 kg N/d. Although a COD/NO3--N ration of 7 : 1 was essential for efficient denitrification, a higher ration of 8,75 : 1 preferable in order to obtain a complete and rapid denitrification. Further improvements are proposed are proposed in order to optimize the denitrification process. | Le procédé SOLEPUR pour le traitement du lisier de porc utilisant le sol comme support principal d'épuration a été développé en France. Ce procédé élimine 99,9% de la DCO du lisier, piège 99,9% du phosphore et élimine environ 80% de l'azote. Le procédé de dénitrification a été choisi pour éliminer les nitrates issus des percolats et le lisier de porc a été utilisé comme source de carbone. Les essais au champ et en laboratoire démontrent l'efficacité de la dénitrification dès lors que le rapport Carbone-sur-Azote était approprié. Selon ce ratio C/N, le processus de dénitrification se déroule au cours de séquences allant de 7 à 60 jours et le taux de dénitrification varie de 0,5 à 1 kgN/jour. Un ration DCO/N-NO3 de 7:1 est indispensable au bon déroulement de la dénitrification.

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Little is known about the exposure of aquatic biota to tire and road wear particles (TRWP) washed away from roads. Mussels were exposed for 7 days to model TRWP (m-TRWP), produced by milling tire tread particles with pure sand, and analyzed for 21 tire-related compounds by liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Upon exposure to 0.5 g/L of m-TRWP, 15 compounds were determined from 944 μg/kg wet weight (diphenylguanidine, DPG) over 18 μg/kg for an oxidation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6-PPDQ) to 0.6 μg/kg (4-hydroxydiphenyl amine). Transfer into mussels was highest for PTPD, DTPD and 6-PPDQ and orders of magnitude lower for 6-PPD. During 7 days depuration the concentration of all determined chemicals decreased to remaining concentrations between ~50 % (PTPD, DTPD) and 6 % (6-PPD). Suspect and non-target screening found 37 additional transformation products (TPs) of tire additives, many of which did not decrease in concentration during depuration, among them ten likely TPs of DPG, two of 6-PPD and PTPD and two of 1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline. A wide variety of chemicals is taken up by mussels upon exposure to m-TRWP and a wide range of TPs is formed, enabling the differentiation of biomarkers of exposure to TRWP and biomarkers of exposure to tire-associated chemicals. | publishedVersion