The International Mussel Watch 



result in contamination of living coastal resources from whole ecosystems to specific food 

 resources with consequent implications for human health and the integrity of marine communities. 



Comparison of the measured values with those from the northern hemisphere of the 1960's 

 and the 1970's (at which times morbidities and mortalities related to chlorinated hydrocarbons 

 pollution were observed) will provide an assessment as to whether populations at upper trophic 

 levels, the most susceptible parts of the ecosystem (e.g., mammals and birds), are at risk from 

 these compounds. 



Another goal for the International Mussel Watch Program will be to help develop a 

 sustainable activity for observation and monitoring chemical contamination in especially susceptible 

 regions of the world's oceans. Such a global network will provide comparable and reliable data 

 sets for environmental decision makers. 



International Mussel Watch Objectives 



* To establish on a global scale the levels of contamination of selected organochlorine 

 pesticides and the polychlorinated biphenyls, in the coastal marine environment. 



* To compare, where possible, present day levels of organochlorine compounds found in the 

 tropics and the southern hemispheric locations with those found in the northern hemisphere during 

 the 1960's and 1970's, where ecosystems disturbances at the upper trophic levels (fish, birds, 

 cetaceans) were apparent. 



* To establish an archive of samples to provide a basis for a time series comparison for both 

 these compounds and as yet unidentified industrial and agricultural contaminants. 



* To contribute to the global data base for the evaluation of the present and future state of the 

 health of the oceans. Provide laboratories and regional organizations with baseline data against 

 which to interpret trends in the global environment and to make future environmental management 

 decisions. 



Important Products of this Program 



* Stimulation of an approach whereby regional specialized networks of laboratories employ 

 the sentinel organism technique for surveillance and monitoring of contamination. 



* A global network of sentinel organism data exchange between regional networks, with 

 agreement on associated quality control, sample analysis, data exchange and data analysis 

 procedures. 



* A sustainable organization or mechanism capable of obtaining high quality data of priority 

 contaminants on a global basis in the near-shore and coastal zone using tested methods of sampling 

 and analysis, for baseline studies, highly polluted "hot spot" regional monitoring programs and 

 periodic surveillances. 



13 



