We report identification and mapping of areas in Europe’s seas and coastal areas impacted by contaminants, i.e., areas with concentrations above internationally agreed threshold values.

By: Steen W. Knudsen

For many years now, NIVA has analyzed water samples for the presence of environmental DNA (abbreviated: ‘eDNA’), both in fresh and marine ecosystems. Among other things, NIVA Denmark has completed the MONIS project (‘Monitoring of non-indigenous species in marine waters’ 2014-2023) on behalf of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

In continuation of the MONIS project, in May 2022 NIVA Denmark acquired a so-called ‘digital droplet Polymerase Chain Reaction’ machine (ddPCR machine) and had it installed in the laboratory at the University of Copenhagen at the Natural History Museum of Denmark which NIVA Denmark uses to make analyzes of eDNA.

NIVA Denmark has together with the National History Museum at University of Copenhagen, DTU Aqua, NIRAS A/S and Litehauz ApS carried out the first ever nation-wide study of the occurrence of non-indigenous species in Danish harbours. The study was funded via the Danish Fisheries Agency’s FISK & HAV programme and carried out in close dialogue with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Is the river pearl mussel still found in Denmark – and where are the remaining populations? We are investigating this using environmental DNA (eDNA) in a project funded by the Aage V Jensen Foundation and Varde Municipality.