73 



economy. Hie fishery sector supplies over 70 per cent of Iceland's 

 exported goods and generates more than 50 per cent of the total export 

 revenue. Contamination of the waters would have far-reaching 

 consequences. Pollution can endanger die fish stocks and, even more, 

 marine mammals. Furthermore, the slightest indication of pollutant 

 residues in marine products can have serious marketing repercussions, as 

 was demonstrated by, for example, the effects of the Chernobyl disaster 

 on the sale of certain foodstufflB, and the negative effects diat radioactive 

 discharges into the Irish Sea have had upon sales offish from that area. 



The waters around Iceland are highly vulnerable to transboimdary 

 pollution and risk of contamination from heavy sea traffic. Iceland is 

 situated at the boundary between the warm waters of die Atlantic and the 

 cold Arctic waters, i.e. on die ocean polar-sul^>olar front The East 

 Gremland Current brings water from die Arcdc Ocean and the Oulf 

 Stream water w^ch has imdergone admixture with waters off North 

 America and Western Europe. These water masses affect both marine 

 life and pollution levels around Iceland, The country is also located on 

 the path of the extra-tropical depressions that move across the ocean from 

 Nordi America towards Europe, bringing air masses from both continents 

 as well as from the adjacent ocean areas. 



la view of the grave situation as regards marine pollution in the 

 adjacent sea areas, such as the Noith Sea and some of tl^ coastal waters 

 in Northem Europe, die Icelandic Government decided in 1989 on a 

 three-year program of extensive measuring and monitoring of heavy 

 metals, organic compounds and radioactivity in Icelandic waters, 

 including sediments and biota. The purpose of the program is to provide 

 baseline data for future marine research and monitoring and to evaluate 

 the possible efiiect of transboundary pollution in Icelandic waters. 



An interim report now being published indicates that marine 

 pollution by radionucleides and heavy metals around Iceland is still 

 insignificant. Notwithstanding, the measurements have indicated that 

 various pollutants are carried into Icelandic waters over a long distance 

 by wind and ocean currents. For instance, while levels of radioactivity 

 are low, the amount of cesium 137 in sea-water is substantially higher in 

 die waters off the north coast than off the soudi coast, or 6 Bq/m^ 



