Projects

Monitoring of Environmental Pollutants in Coastal Areas (MILKYS)

The program monitors levels, trends and effects of the most environmentally hazardous heavy metals and organic pollutants in marine organisms along the entire Norwegian coast, from the Oslofjord to the Varangerfjord, and in Svalbard.

Project period: 2021 - 2025
Funders: The Norwegian Environment Agency
Contact person: Merete Schøyen

About the project

Time span: 1981- (ongoing project). Last contract period: 2021-2025

Read about the program at the Norwegian Environment Agency

Biological effects are investigated at a selection of stations to assess the impact of pollutants on organisms. Results from the program are used for international agreements under the auspices of the EU and OSPAR, but also for national and local emission control measures and contribute to the assessment of Tryggsjømat. The aim is also to help stop the use and discharge of substances that are harmful to health and the environment.

Relevant parameters include metals and a number of inorganic and organic pollutants. Over the years, the program has monitored sediment, mussels, snails, shrimp, deep-sea fish as well as cod and a number of flatfish species. The program has also included source tracking using radioactive isotopes or extended station networks, the presence of microplastics, the use of passive samplers and short-term, more intensive monitoring in time and space to check how robust the ICES/OSPAR methods we use are.

The program has on several occasions taken a statistical "deep dive" into the database to reveal, for example, site gradients or better explanatory variables. The program has developed a new concept called Norwegian provisional high reference contaminant concentrations (PROREF).

The data are displayed at ICES (The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), which is responsible for data management for OSPAR (The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic), and in the Norwegian Environment Agency's Water Environment database.

See the project's Norwegian website for more information.

The work has resulted in many reports:

Schøyen, M., Grung, M., Lund, E., Hjermann, D. Ø., Ruus, A., Øxnevad, S., Christensen, G. (Akvaplan-niva), Beylich, B., Jenssen, M. T. S., Tveiten, L., Håvardstun, J., Sagerup, K. (NINA), Eftevåg, V., Dorna Misaq, Bæk, K. 2025. Contaminants in coastal waters 2024. Miljøgifter i kystområdene 2024. Norwegian Environment Agency/Miljødirektoratet. M rapportnr. 3096/2025. NIVA-rapport 8158-2025. 100 s + vedlegg. ISBN 978-82-577-7896-5. NIVA-rapport ISSN 1894-7948. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5368885

Schøyen, M., Lund, E., Hjermann, D. Ø., Ruus, A., Beylich, B., Jenssen, M. T. S., Tveiten, L. A., Håvardstun, J., Ribeiro, A. L., Doyer, I., Bæk, K., & Øxnevad, S. (2024). Contaminants in coastal waters of Norway 2020. Norsk institutt for vannforskning. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3158408

Schøyen, M., Grung, M., Lund, E., Hjermann, D. Ø., Ruus, A., Øxnevad, S., Christensen, G., Beylich, B., Jenssen, M. T. S., Tveiten, L. A., Håvardstun, J., Sagerup, K., Eftevåg, V. S., & Bæk, K. (2024). Contaminants in coastal waters 2023. Norsk institutt for vannforskning og Miljødirektoratet. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3176335

Schøyen, M., Grung, M., Lund, E., Hjermann, D. Ø., Ruus, A., Øxnevad, S., Christensen, G., Beylich, B., Jenssen, M. T. S., Tveiten, L. A., Håvardstun, J., Eftevåg, V. S., & Bæk, K. (2024). Contaminants in coastal waters 2022. Norsk institutt for vannforskning. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3127406

Schøyen, M., Grung, M., Lund, E., Hjermann, D. Ø., Ruus, A., Øxnevad, S., Beylich, B., Jenssen, M. T. S., Tveiten, L. A., Håvardstun, J., Ribeiro, A. L., Doyer, I., & Bæk, K. (2022). Contaminants in coastal waters 2021 / Miljøgifter i kystområdene 2021. Norsk institutt for vannforskning. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3158421

Green, N. W., Schøyen, M., Hjermann, D. Ø., Øxnevad, S., Ruus, A., Grung, M., Beylich, B., Lund, E., Tveiten, L., Jenssen, M. T. S., Håvardstun, J., Ribeiro, A. L., Doyer, I., & Bæk, K. (2020). Contaminants in coastal waters of Norway 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2997095

Green, N. W., Schøyen, M., Hjermann, D. Ø., Øxnevad, S., Ruus, A., Beylich, B., Lund, E., Tveiten, L., Jenssen, M. T. S., Håvardstun, J., Ribeiro, A. L., Doyer, I., Rundberget, J. T., & Bæk, K. (2019). Contaminants in coastal waters of Norway 2018. Norsk institutt for vannforskning. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2635080

Green, N. W., Schøyen, M., Hjermann, D. Ø., Øxnevad, S., Ruus, A., Lusher, A., Beylich, B., Lund, E., Tveiten, L. A., Håvardstun, J., Jenssen, M. T. S., Ribeiro, A. L., & Bæk, K. (2018). Contaminants in coastal waters of Norway 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2588674

The program has also resulted in several articles:

Ruus, A., Hjermann, D., Beylich, B., Schøyen, M., Øxnevad, S., Green, N. 2017. Mercury concentration trend as a possible result of changes in cod population demography. Marine Environmental Research 130 (2017) 85-92.

Schøyen, M., Green, N. W., Hjermann, D. Ø., Tveiten, L., Beylich, B., Øxnevad, S., Beyer, J. 2019. "Levels and trends of tributyltin (TBT) and imposex in dogwhelk (Nucella lapillus) along the Norwegian coastline from 1991 to 2017”. Marine Environmental Research 144 (2019) 1-8.

In the media (in english):

“Thirty years of monitoring Arctic coastal contaminants”. 19.03.2025. Fram Forum papirutgave og nett. (engelsk versjon).

For additional news in Norwegian, please see our Norwegian project page.