The International Mussel Watch 



Environment Program (UNEP) to consider lending its support to this important activity through its 

 Regional Seas Environmental Program. The Committee also recommended that the Program be 

 given priority support by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) under the 

 umbrella of GIPME. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the United Nations 

 Environment Program have committed seed funds and support to initiate the International Mussel 

 Watch Program. Both agencies have agreed that this important scientific program should move 

 forward and will incorporate IMW into their existing environmental regional programs. 

 Particularly encouraging is the agreement to include Mussel Watch activities in the United Nations 

 Regional Seas protocols and treaty agreements. These regional environmental treaties and pacts 

 provide the legal, political and scientific access to many countries around the world for 

 participation in regional environmental programs. 



In 1987 United Nations agencies provided $12,000 of support for organizing activities and 

 in 1988 they contributed $60,000 for IMW scientific, technical and program development. This 

 support continued in 1989 with a contribution of $40,000 and these agencies have agreed to 

 cooperatively fund national and regional meetings to organize and implement the program. Full 

 implementation of the global program will require an estimated 2.5 million dollars in 1989 dollars 

 to fund implementation, and the data assessment and synthesis activities of this global program. 



Initial implementation for the South American and Caribbean region has been partially 

 funded for program organization, sampling, chemical analyses, and data assessment. A 

 combination of United Nations Agencies (UNEP and IOC/UNESCO) and the U.S. National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have jointly contributed to create a Project Secretariat and 

 to begin the sampling and analysis of field-collected samples. A budget cooperatively funded by 

 U.S. NOAA and IOC/UNESCO has been committed to support the coordination activities of the 

 Project Secretariat, chemical analyses of chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants at two central 

 laboratories and the field sampling program. This funding has permitted implementation of scaled- 

 down program in the Western Hemisphere for one year. 



International Mussel Watch Goals 



The primary initial goal of the International Mussel Watch is to ascertain and to assess the 

 levels of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (CHP) and polychlorinated biphenyls in bivalves 

 collected from coastal marine waters throughout the world. The emphasis is on tropical and 

 southern hemispheric locations where the use of these biocides continues and appears to be 

 increasing. Increased use or continued use at present rates of these persistent toxic biocides may 



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