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.