Research Product

The participants in the International Symposium on Marine Pollution Research expressed concern about the continual and increasing pollution of the marine environment, in particular the potential adverse effect of marine pollution on the production of protein from the sea. Participants discussed broad issues relating to international marine pollution and some specific areas of potential cooperation. Broad issues and specific areas of potential research are listed in order of discussions, not necessarily in order of priority. Broad issues: (1) identification of pollution problems--each country must identify and prioritize marine pollution problems within their boundaries, only then can international problems be discussed and prioritized. (2) Training and technology transfer--training of non-professionals and professionals in the field of marine pollution must be accomplished on a worldwide basis. Training also can be accomplished through the transfer of technical information from one country to another. This can be accomplished through communications: individual to individual, workshops with scientific personnel from many countries, seminars and other technology transfer methods. (3) Monitoring--monitoring should be conducted only with a clear and concise purpose for the use of the monitoring data and a knowledge of the mechanisms in which the monitored pollutants were identified and quantitated. (4) Impact on biological systems--criteria must be developed for determining the impact of pollutants on biological systems. (5) Water quality criteria--quantitative and qualitative information has been developed at national and international levels on water quality criteria for ocean and coastal waters. This information should be made available to all interested countries and could be used as a starting point for countries who have not yet developed such criteria. (6) Education--the importance and necessity of scientific education must be emphasized. It is particularly important to educate laymen, both government authorities and the public who may not have adequate technical backgrounds to understand the complexities of marine pollution and its impact on global systems. (7) Communication of techniques--this is a special aspect of technology transfer that should be stressed in relation to the compilation of methods manuals for such items as (a) sampling, (b) chemical analysis, and (c) bioassays so that data collected from different nations can be compared.