Acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) are used in attempts to mitigate pinniped depredation on aquaculture sites through the emission of loud and pervasive noise. This study quantified spatio-temporal changes in underwater ADD noise detections along western Scotland over 11 years. Acoustic point data (‘listening events’) collected during cetacean line-transect surveys were used to map ADD presence between 2006 and 2016. A total of 19,601 listening events occurred along the Scottish west coast, and ADD presence was recorded during 1371 listening events. Results indicated a steady increase in ADD detections from 2006 (0.05%) to 2016 (6.8%), with the highest number of detections in 2013 (12.6%), as well as substantial geographic expansion. This study demonstrates that ADDs are a significant and chronic source of underwater noise on the Scottish west coast with potential adverse impacts on target (pinniped) and non-target (e.g. cetaceans) species, which requires further study and improved monitoring and regulatory strategies.

This study investigates the extra UV fluence needed to meet the International Maritime Organisation's ballast water discharge standards for the 10–50 μm size-class using the approved vital stain (VS) method compared to the Most Probable Number (MPN) method for organism viability assessment. Low- and medium pressure UV collimated beam treatments were applied to natural algae collected in temperate and tropical water environments and analysed using both methods. About 10 times higher UV fluence was required to meet discharge standards when using VS compared to MPN. Implementing a dark-hold period after UV treatments decreased algal viability. Length of dark-hold period to meet discharge standards decreased with increasing UV fluence. No significant differences between temperate and tropical samples were observed. The results showed that UV treated algae assessed using the VS method could meet discharge standards by increasing fluence and/or introducing a dark-hold period.

Bathing water quality plays a key role for public health, is highly important for recreational tourism and therefore monitored in the EU-Directive 2006/7/EC. To identify pollution hot spots, sources and impacts of the directive-change in 2006, including a change of indicator organisms, we evaluated monitoring data of the past 15 years, collected own data, determined survival rates of indicator organisms and applied hydrodynamic modelling in a micro-tidal-system.Due to higher survival rates under turbid conditions and restricted water exchange, shallow, eutrophic bays and lagoons are hot spots of microbial pollution. Rain events cause high microbial emission and distribution. Based on different decay rates, the ratio of E. coli to Enterococci can hint towards a pollution source. Including rain predictions, currents and winds, hydrodynamic models can then assess the daily risk of microbial pollution at each bathing site. They are an important tool to modify beach management and event-based monitoring.

Tropical sea cucumber fisheries are generally traditional, small-scale, multispecies and poorly managed. Many recent studies have improved our knowledge on the biology and ecology of the commercially important species; the main results are analysed and the remaining gaps discussed. The fisheries and the patterns of trade changes during the last decade are presented from the data available and confirm overexploitation in the traditional Indian Ocean and West Pacific countries and territories. Several Latino-American countries now have active fisheries. Despite the management and conservation issues which have recently received more attention at international, regional and national levels, more measures are still needed at all these levels, to ensure sustainable exploitations of these resources.

This study is the first to systematically quantify, categorize, and map marine macro-debris across the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), including remote areas (e.g., Niihau, Kahoolawe, and northern Molokai). Aerial surveys were conducted over each island to collect high resolution photos, which were processed into orthorectified imagery and visually analyzed in GIS. The technique provided precise measurements of the quantity, location, type, and size of macro-debris (>0.05m²), identifying 20,658 total debris items. Northeastern (windward) shorelines had the highest density of debris. Plastics, including nets, lines, buoys, floats, and foam, comprised 83% of the total count. In addition, the study located six vessels from the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami. These results created a baseline of the location, distribution, and composition of marine macro-debris across the MHI. Resource managers and communities may target high priority areas, particularly along remote coastlines where macro-debris counts were largely undocumented.

Standardized ecosystem-based monitoring surveys are critical for providing information on marine ecosystem health. Environmental DNA/RNA (eDNA/eRNA) metabarcoding may facilitate such surveys by quickly and effectively characterizing multi-trophic levels. In this study, we assessed the suitability of eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding to evaluate changes in benthic assemblages of bacteria, Foraminifera and other eukaryotes along transects at three offshore oil and gas (O&G) drilling and production sites, and compared these to morphologically characterized macro-faunal assemblages. Bacterial communities were the most responsive to O&G activities, followed by Foraminifera, and macro-fauna (the latter assessed by morphology). The molecular approach enabled detection of hydrocarbon degrading taxa such as the bacteria Alcanivorax and Microbulbifer at petroleum impacted stations. Most identified indicator taxa, notably among macro-fauna, were highly specific to site conditions. Based on our results we suggest that eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding can be used as a stand-alone method for biodiversity assessment or as a complement to morphology-based monitoring approaches.

Reconstructing heavy metal historical trends are essential for better understanding anthropogenic impact on marine ecosystems. In this work, the ecological risk and sources of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb in Jiaozhou Bay were studied and the anthropogenic metal emissions was also quantified. The ecological risk was mainly caused by Cd, As and Cu, which presented an increasing trend with increased anthropogenic activities since the 1950s. The statistical analysis show that Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn were primarily from natural sources. Cadmium and Mn might originate from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Arsenic and Pb were sourced from agricultural activities and atmospheric precipitation, respectively. The anthropogenic flux of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb were 138, 586, 63, 66, 161, 35, 0.31 and 44 mg/m2/a since the 1950s. Over 40.0% of Cu and As were quantified from anthropogenic emissions since the 1950s.

The deleterious effects of marine debris ingestion on marine turtles are well documented in literature globally. In this study, the qualitative and quantitative aspects of marine debris ingested by 14 stranded green sea turtles Chelonia mydas, (Linnaeus, 1758) along the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates were investigated. The numeric and gravimetric proportions of debris in the esophagus, stomach and intestines were documented following classification of color, presumed sources and Marine Strategy Framework Directive categories and sub-categories. The results show that 85.7% of the specimens examined consumed marine debris. On average, specimens consumed 61.9 ± 17.2 items of 1.0 ± 0.3 g mass. Plastics, particularly white, and transparent thread-like and sheet-like plastics, were the predominant debris ingested. The results reflect a potentially high level of interaction between green sea turtles and anthropogenic marine debris along the Gulf of Oman coast of the UAE.