Fewer types of human activities take place in this ecoregion compared to others. Contaminants (accounting for 11% of the total impact risk) originate mainly from fisheries but also to some extent from shipping, aquaculture, land-based industry, and global sources outside the ecoregion.
In the neighbouring ICES ecoregions, the situation is as follows:
- The Icelandic Waters ecoregion shows low concentration levels of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, and the concentration of most contaminants are declining.
- The Norwegian Sea ecoregion remains relatively clean, with low pollution levels.
- In the Celtic Seas ecoregion contamination remains high risk because of numerous sources.
Effects
The acute and chronic effects of contaminants include toxicity to marine organisms and foodwebs (including humans). Additionally, bioaccumulation in higher trophic levels and the interacting effects of multiple contaminants remain difficult to assess. For example, marine mammals may experience immune or reproductive system effects through the bioaccumulation of contaminants (especially legacy compounds like chlorinated pesticides, chlorinated benzenes [CBs], brominated diphenyl ethers [BDEs], as well as CECs such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAs]) from their food sources.
