Dr. Jörn Peter Scharsack, Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Bremerhaven

Leaking marine dumped munition in the North and Baltic Sea and potential effects on fish

Huge amounts of munition ended up on the sea floors, due to military activity and dumping of unused munitions after the world wars. Current estimates encompass about 1.6 mio tonnes munition in German areas of the North and Baltic Sea. As a consequence of ongoing corrosion of munition shells, toxic substances such as the explosive TNT (trinitrotoluene) are leaking into the environment and can be detected in water samples and in biota. This raises concerns about possible negative effects on the environment and inhabiting biota including fish, and last but not least, seafood consumers. This presentation gives an overview about the current state of research on marine dumped munition with special emphasis on fish. https://conmar-munition.eu/de/