On the one hand the coastal areas of the North Sea hold important breeding populations of marine

birds but on the other hand these areas are also under pressure from pollution with environmental

chemicals. Due to biomagnification effects through the food chain, the bird egg is an ideal matrix

to get a consistent and reliable picture of the pollutant level of the marine environment over time

and space.

With this report, we are pleased to give, for the first time, a North-Sea-wide overview

about the spatial patterns of mercury and organochlorine pollution in coastal bird eggs, presenting

data from Oystercatcher, Common Tern and Arctic Tern in the period 2008-2010. We are able to

show how the recently defined Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) for these substances in

coastal bird eggs have been fulfilled in the different parts of the North Sea. This report aims to

provide input for the further development of EcoQOs in the North Sea area and for their potential

role in the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Directive.

We would like to thank all those who contributed to the report by coordinating and

organizing the field sampling, by participating in workshops and providing funding for the

project. A large part of the work was carried out in the framework of the long established

Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program (TMAP) of the Trilateral Wadden Sea

Cooperation which provided resources and data for the Wadden Sea sites. A cooperation with

institutes in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and the UK made it possible to extend the monitoring of

pollutants from the Wadden Sea to the entire North Sea. This was achieved thanks to the

enormous commitment of many colleagues.

We hope to be able to continue this fruitful cooperation in the future with the aim to

further support the protection of the North Sea ecosystem with integrated approaches.