The International Mussel Watch Project: 

 Executive Summary 



Background 



The problem being addressed concerns 

 the consequences of the continued, and in some 

 cases, increasing use of biocides/pesticides in 

 tropical and southern-hemispheric regions. 

 The project looks specifically at the levels of 

 organochlorine pesticides in the nearshore and 

 coastal marine environment and the possible 

 implication for human health, the use of marine 

 resources and the changes in coastal 

 ecosystems. Since the time scales of their 

 persistence in the environment are of the order 

 of tens of years, the present problem is urgent. 

 A recent study by the World Health 

 Organization (WHO) on DDT in mother's milk 

 showed much higher levels in several 

 developing countries than in European 

 countries that controlled its usage decade ago. 



The program has been triggered by: i.) 

 the realization that the production and major use 

 of persistent biocides/pesticides has shifted 

 from northern hemispheric regions to tropical 

 and southern hemispheric regions, and ii.) the 

 knowledge gained from similar studies in the 

 1960's and 1970's in the Northern 

 Hemisphere, which concluded that excessive 

 use of persistent biocides/pesticides resulted in 

 grave impacts on coastal marine ecosystems 

 and on the health of the environment. The 

 solution applied to the problem in most 

 Northern Hemisphere countries was a ban or a 

 regulation on the use and the production of 

 selected biocides. This solution, however, 



may not be appropriate for the countries of the 

 regions presently under discussion. Education 

 in the controlled use of biocides, coupled with 

 the introduction of alternative substances, may 

 be a more practicable solution. 



The project uses bivalves for 

 monitoring the concentration of selected 

 pollutants and as an indicator of bioavailability. 

 Bivalves are chosen because of their worldwide 

 distribution and ubiquitous abundance, their 

 general ability to bioconcentrate most 

 pollutants, and their sedentary habits. 



Studies similar to this proposed 

 program have been carried out in North 

 America and in the North Atlantic (coordinated 

 through ICES), and resulted in the 

 identification of zones of high and low 

 contamination levels which can serve as 

 reference areas. Experience gained in the 

 design of techniques for sampling, analysis, 

 preservation, and evaluation from these studies 

 have been taken into account in the present 

 design. Lessons learned from the previous 

 project include the need for stringent data 

 quality control and quality assurance; agreed 

 common methods of sampling, preservation 

 and analysis; and, participation in 

 intercalibration exercises by all participating 

 laboratories. 



International Mussel Watch Goals 



The primary goal of the International 

 Mussel Watch is to ascertain and assess the 



1 



