Conventional munition dumped into the North Sea and the Baltic Sea close to the German coastline is corroding. A major concern is that biota, including fish, are negatively affected by toxic explosives leaking into marine environments. With the present study, we investigated fish living in close proximity to munition dumping sites for contamination and for signs of health impairments. The flat fish species common dab (Limanda limanda) was used as a model, since it lives in the vicinity of dumping sites and exhibits minor migratory activity. Various health indicators (body condition factors, externally visible fish diseases, parasites or liver anomalies) were investigated.
Cruise POS530 (R/V Poseidon) sampled the water column throughout German territorial waters of the southwest Baltic Sea during 01-21 October 2018. The current dataset contains concentrations of dissolved munition compounds from Niskin bottle rosette casts between sea surface and seafloor. Vertical sampling resolution varied among stations, with a maximum of 9 sampling depths. Dissolved explosives in the samples were measured following Gledhill et al. (2019). Briefly, discrete samples (1 L) were preconcentrated onboard using solid-phase extraction. Target compounds were eluted with acetonitrile, further concentrated by evaporation, and measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and high resolution heated electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.