DAERA CSEMP Sediment Contaminant Monitoring

DAERA Marine and Fisheries Division are the Competent Monitoring Authority responsible for annual sediment sampling at 7 sites in waters around Northern Ireland. The sites are part of the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP); a UK wide monitoring programme coordinated by the Clean, Safe Seas Evidence Group (CSSEG). The data generated is used to assess the status and trend of contaminants concentrations in sediment, and contributes to the UK's requirements under the Oslo and Paris Convention (OSPAR). Northern Ireland data has also been used in national assessments, such as Charting Progress 2, and to support the UK's 2018 assessments for Descriptor 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Monitoring sites are assigned to regions for reporting and assessment. Belfast Lough Inner, Belfast Lough Outer, Larne Lough, Strangford Lough and Carlingford Lough are in the Irish Sea. Lough Foyle and the Bann Estuary are in the Minches and Malin Sea (Irish and Scottish West Coast). The Irish Sea and Irish and Scottish West Coast are reported under OSPAR Region III. The sediment data used in the 2018 CSEMP assessment using data from MERMAN may be cited with the citation provided by Marine Scotland https://doi.org/10.7489/12227-1.北爱尔兰海域与渔业部门作为有权限的监测机构，负责对北爱尔兰周边水域7个地点进行年度沉积物采样。这些地点构成了清洁海洋环境监测计划（CSEMP）的一部分，该计划是一项由清洁、安全海洋证据组（CSSEG）协调的全国性监测项目。所生成数据用于评估沉积物中污染物浓度的现状及趋势，并有助于满足奥斯陆和巴黎公约（OSPAR）对英国的要求。北爱尔兰的数据也已被用于国家评估，例如《绘制进展2》，以及支持英国2018年对海洋战略框架指令（MSFD）第8个描述符的评估。监测站点被分配至不同区域以进行报告和评估。贝尔法斯特内湾、贝尔法斯特外湾、拉恩湾、斯特朗福德湾和卡林福德湾位于爱尔兰海。弗伊尔湖和巴恩河口位于明奇斯和马林海（爱尔兰和苏格兰西海岸）。爱尔兰海以及爱尔兰和苏格兰西海岸的数据均属于OSPAR区域III。2018年CSEMP评估中使用的沉积数据，来源于MERMAN的数据，可引用苏格兰海洋局提供的引用信息：https://doi.org/10.7489/12227-1。