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This paper briefly summarizes some of the major provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution, 1973, as adopted by the International Conference on Marine Pollution, 1973, and considers their impact on the shipbuilding and maritime transportation industries.

In order to assess the degree of seriousness of pollution of the marine environment, much research still needs to be done about the sources, the routes to the sea, and the fate and effects of pollutants in the oceans. However, it is already clear that at least on a local scale marine pollution can cause considerable harm. Because the capacity of the ocean to assimilate and render harmless the waste matter poured into it has rightly been questioned, because these pollutants do not respect political boundaries, and because the major part of the marine environment lies outside national jurisdiction, marine pollution is fundamentally an international problem, calling for international action. Because national action will come first, it is essential to coordinate this work at an international level. It should be ensured that the same standards are used everywhere, and that the information which is gathered in this way will be made available internationally. Finally, it will be necessary to develop appropriate international laws, establishing the responsibility of individual states for the preservation of the marine environment.

1. A case of copper pollution on the Dutch coast is used to demonstrate that waste disposal in inshore waters can easily lead to damage to the living resources of the sea, since dilution is under such conditions a much slower process than is usually assumed. 2. Pollution by domestic sewage, its direct hazards for human health, and its contaminating effect on shellfish, is discussed. Next to these direct and indirect health hazards, discharge of domestic waste may lead to eutrophication, which in its turn can contribute to the development of plankton blooms producing truly poisonous metabolites. Some examples of eutrophication of the marine environment are given. 3. Of the industrial waste, examples are given which clearly demonstrate how dangerous discharge of heavy metals and pesticides can be, also in the marine environment. Possible effects of petrochemical waste products and of synthetic detergents and soaps are discussed. 4. Radio-active waste disposal in sea is more carefully studied and monitored than disposal of other types of waste. 5. The increasing quantity and variety of industrial waste is a reason for serious concern. Careful discrimination between the many products is advocated and discharge far offshore is advised for certain categories of pollutants. Pesticides and other very dangerous products should never be admitted in the shallow sea areas, so important as nursery grounds for the fishery resources.

The increased interest in marine pollution problems over the past decade results principally from the greater emphasis being placed on coastal discharge of wastes with increasing constraints on inland disposal, from an awareness that the oceans are not limitless in their acceptance of wastes, and because of comparatively recent evidence of possible general effects of pollution resulting from the widespread aerial transfer of pollutants such as toxic metals and organochlorine pesticides and the possible influence of climatic changes associated with atmospheric pollution on the energy balance of the oceans. Several national and international bodies have considered and reported on the need for information on which policies for marine waste disposal may be planned. This contribution will not summarize such information but will attempt to emphasize aspects which have not received, in the opinion of the author, the consideration they deserve, particularly in relation to effects of pollution on marine biological resources. The identification of research needs Before one can define research needs one must define objectives and the principal one must surely be to provide information so that we know, in good time, the environmental consequences of the disposal of wastes resulting from man’s activi­ties. Some of these environmental consequences may have little overall effect on man’s welfare, either directly on his health or his assimilable resources, and only he can decide whether more purist ecological consequences should greatly in fluence his environmental plans and designs. The pollution biologist should have two goals, first to forecast or detect effects and then to assess ‘damage’. Those concerned with our non-saline waters appreciate this distinction, for there must be very few inland waters in the developed parts of the world which have not been modified ecologically by man’s activity.

The effects of varying concentrations of known environmental variables around marine domestic outfall sewers were studied on four species of polychaetous annelids which have been employed as indicators of varying degrees of marine pollution. The variables included increased concentrations of phosphates, nitrates, and silicates and decreased concentrations of chlorinity and dissolved oxygen. These factors were measured individually, the 3 nutrients together, and all 5 variables together. Data were expressed in the form of 28 day tl m values. Nereis grubei , the healthy zone indicator, was most sensitive species studied. In general, the tolerances of the two semi healthy zone indicators and polluted zone indicator were similar. Comparisons of the 28 day tl m values with the concentrations of these factors present at the bubble of the Orange County, California, outfall sewer showed that these four species would be unaffected directly by the altered conditions in the waste discharge.

Attempts at international control of marine pollution commenced as early as 1926 in a proposal to limit oil pollution in the sea by a convention which failed to be ratified. The first successful Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil was adopted in 1954 and amended in 1962. An attempt will be made to expand the terms of this Convention at a Conference on Marine Pollution to be convened by the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization in October 1973. It is planned to include other noxious substances than oil carried by ships, as well as ship-generated garbage and sewage. The Convention on the Dumping of Wastes at Sea, adopted in London on November 13, 1972, will be responsible for the control of marine pollution arising from dumping wastes at sea, where certain substances are prohibited from being dumped and others can only be dumped under close supervision. The International Law of the Sea Conference to be convened in Santiago, Chile, during April 1974, will attempt to introduce international control over other forms of marine pollution by legislative action. There are various inter-governmental bodies dealing with the scientific aspects of marine pollution, including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Meteorological Organization. These bodies, along with others, formed the IMCO/FAO/UNESCO/WMO/WHO/IAEA/UN Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution, which met for the first time in March 1969, and annually since then, to deal with scientific matters pertaining to marine pollution. The International Coordination Group on the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment of the IOC met for the first time in April 1973 to coordinate a global approach to studying the marine pollution problem. Under the Integrated Global Ocean Station System, a pilot project, to monitor oil pollution in the North Atlantic and contiguous seas, has been initiated. There are a number of regional programs which might be incorporated into a global monitoring program, such as the North Sea and Baltic projects, coordinated under the International Council for Exploration of the Sea. National programs under the International Decade of Ocean Exploration will also be candidates for inclusion in global pollution studies. In addition, a number of non-governmental bodies such as the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research and Scientific Committee on Problems of Environment of the International Council of Scientific Unions are addressing themselves to scientific issues of marine pollution. The solution of global problems of marine pollution can only be achieved through international legislative action combined with strong backing by scientific research and monitoring. Many national programs will have to be coordinated by an international mechanism probably under the aegis of IOC. In the final analysis, the problem of global pollution can only be solved by cooperation of states with control of pollution nationally first and then internationally second.

An olefinic hydrocarbon (all-cis-3,6,9,12,15,18-heneicosahexaene, “HEH”)_was islated from marine planktonic plants and animals. Its structure was established by ultraviolet, infrared and mass spectrometry in combination with chemical techniques. The olefin occurs in many species of marine planktonic algae and is probably derived from the corresponding docosahexaenoic acid. Rhincalanus nasutus accumulates HEH nonselectively from its algal food together with the triglyceride lipids. Other, related copepods contain little or no HEH even when grown in cultures of algae that provide R. nasutus with that olefin. The presence of HEH in marine vertebrates suggests that, within the animal lipids, hydrocarbons are remarkably stable. This work has practical implications for studies of the marine food web and of marine pollution with persistent chemicals.

SynopsisAlthough no particular studies have been made of pollutants in fish of the Forth and Tay estuaries, samples from these areas have been examined together with similar samples from other Scottish coastal waters, as part of a national survey of marine pollution. The contaminants investigated so far have been organochlorine compounds, including pesticide residues and polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury (including organic mercury), lead, cadmium, copper and zinc. Pelagic and demersal fish, molluscs and Crustacea have been sampled, although not all contaminants have been determined in all species.Few samples have been obtained from the upper sections of the two estuaries, but in comparison with residue levels found in other Scottish waters the species in the two areas contained concentrations little different from those considered to be normal. The selection of species and tissues for analysis, and the problems of interpretation of the analytical data, in terms of locating the sources of pollution and assessing the effects of the pollutants on fish, are discussed. More detailed surveys would be required to identify any localised areas of high contamination.

Shipowners and shipbuilders in planning for the 1980s need to take into account regulatory and environmental aspects, including requirements resulting from amendments to international agreements such as the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) Convention and the Oil Pollution Convention which, while agreed by the I. M. C. O. Assembly, are not yet in force internationally. An assessment of such requirements likely to come into force nationally and internationally in future years can only be an estimate since the context is a developing situation open to influence by major events. Environmental concern is of growing significance and additional requirements may well arise from the 1972 Marine Pollution Conference, possibly leading to a prohibition of all deliberate discharges of oil and other noxious substances into the sea by the 1980s. There will be increasing emphasis on navigational matters, including the adoption of traffic separation schemes and navigational advisory schemes in such waterways as the Dover Strait, with the possibility of more positive action. There is international pressure which may lead to developments on standards of competency of officers and crews and safe manning of ships. Changes in requirements for ship construction and equipment are likely to arise in the context of amendments to Solas 1960 and to the Oil Pollution Convention.

The writer shows in this paper the status of fishing villages on a small island, Chiburi, of the Okinoshimas. The island depends on the poor fishing income without help of the law of the development for the isolated islands because of the location not far from the mainland.Recently the fishing cooperation of fishing villages on the island are promoting their unification. However, fishing villages on Chiburi are not welcomed because of their poor fishing income.In spite of such conditions, the fishing ground of this small island begins to emergence as an important area. The coastal fishing of the main land is damaged by marine pollution. On the other hand, the fishing ground of the Okinoshimas does not polluted. In addition their fishery markets, Kyoto-Osaka areas, are not so far from the Okinoshimas. Therefore, the fishing villages on the small island are urged to refrom their management and technology.

Salt pollution on outdoor insulators has been a serious problem in Japan, and steady efforts have been made to prevent flashover faults on polluted insulators. As a part of such efforts, a simple method of artificial pollution test has been developed to evaluate the flashover characteristics of polluted insulators, especially those with large dimensions. In this test, a salt solution of various concentrations containing a certain amount of kaolin is prepared and sprayed on the entire surface of the insulator to give a required density of salt deposit and sufficient moisture.

Marine pollution is a global problem in several senses. It affects the health of the oceans in all parts of the world; it affects all countries, both developed and developing; and all countries contribute to some aspects of the problem. Some marine pollution problems are local, but many have international implications. Particularly if the effects of pollution on the living resources of the sea are considered, very few marine pollution problems can be considered matters of exclusively local interest.

This paper, prepared for a regional conference on the petroleum industry in Africa, is divided into four parts. Part I deals with the definition of marine pollution and distinguishes the different ways in which such pollution may be caused. Part II describes the position under international law and the action recently taken by international bodies (the U.N. Seabed Committee, IMCO, the Stockholm Conference and OAU). Part III, which forms the major section, is a survey, with citations, of national legislation relating to marine pollution caused by offshore mineral development. The survey covers the legislation and regulations of the following countries: the United States, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the USSR, among developed countries; Iran and Kuwait (Middle East); Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand (Far East); Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (Latin America); and Ghana, Libyan Arab Republic, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Senegal (Africa). Part IV is a summary, together with some suggestio...

The major impact of artificial radioactive material on the oceans has been as a potential pollutant, and, in particular, concern has centred on the public health problems that might arise through human exploitation of marine environments. This public health problem has been an important stimulus to marine pollution methodology. The development and deployment of critical path analysis techniques to the control of this material and to the assessment of its significance for human radiation exposure (Preston 1969; Foster, Ophel and Preston 1971; Slansky 1971) not only exemplifies the control of a chemical pollutant but has served as a stimulus to produce much of the basic physical, chemical and biological data required for its proper implementation. In more recent years the advantages which labelled environments confer for studies of a much wider physical, chemical or biological nature are being increasingly recognised (Natn. Sci. Fdn 1971; Volchoket al.1971; Lowman, Rice and Richards 1971; Duursma, 1972; Preston, Jefferies and Pentreath 1972,) and many of the tools of nuclear technology, radio-isotopes, reactor propulsion systems, isotope power sources, neutron activation analysis techniques, etc., will enjoy an increasingly important role in oceanography, not only in basic investigations but also in the rational exploitation of marine resources.