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Shipping and the environment 
As prosecutor of administrative offences, the BSH im 
posed fines for environmental offences committed by 
shipping. Fines totaling DM 750,000 were imposed for 
250 offences. In 51 cases, by-pass lines had been 
used for the Illegal discharge of oily residues Into the 
sea. 
Sea water monitoring 
Also In 2000, pollutant and nutrient levels in the North 
Sea and Baltic Sea were monitored routinely. Sub 
stances recently included in the monitoring programme 
are novel agricultural pesticides, substances from 
anti-fouling ship paints, Industrial and household 
chemicals, as well as drug residues. The accuracy of 
oxygen and nutrient measuring instruments installed 
on BSH-operated automated monitoring stations in 
the North Sea and Baltic Sea has been improved sub 
stantially. An unusual inflow of Baltic Seawater far into 
the North Sea was observed in August, which was 
due to strong rainfalls causing exceptionally high river 
discharges. A thermocllne forming between the low- 
salinity, warm water at the surface and the dense 
near-bottom water prevented renewal of the bottom 
water with fresh oxygen. In the North Sea, the ther 
mocllne persisted until autumn storms caused mixing 
of the surface and bottom layers. 
Quality status 
Quality Status Reports compiling monitoring data are 
published regularly for the North Sea and Baltic Sea. 
In June 2000, the first full report on the environmental 
status of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Including the 
North Sea was completed, with major contributions by 
the BSH. The report documents that the concentra- 
tlons of several heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocar 
bons and phosphorus-containing nutrients in offshore 
areas have decreased. Changes in the levels of other 
substances which are subject to large environmental 
fluctuations could not yet be observed. Inputs of nitro 
gen-containing nutrients still caused eutrophication in 
several regions. For fisheries, it will be necessary to 
Introduce management tools based on sustainability 
principles. 
Oceanographic services 
The operational models for the North Sea and Baltic 
Sea used by the BSH's forecasting services and for 
other prediction purposes have been developed fur 
ther, especially by Including sea states. The BSH's 
Water Level and Storm Surge Forecasting Service and 
the Ice Service have Improved their Internet presenta 
tion. The Internet service "Baden und Meer” (Beaches 
and the Sea), which provides regular updates and fore 
casts of water temperatures, currents, water levels, 
and tides at the German coasts, recorded over 50,000 
queries per month and proved to be very successful. 
The Ice Service benefits increasingly from special pre 
dictions made by the international ice observation sta 
tions. Early warnings are issued when the water tem 
perature drops below 2°C. Forecasts on Ice formation 
and Ice cover development are provided for up to three 
days. International co-operation Is being promoted 
with a view to jointly Issuing products. Current water 
level data for the Danish, German, Polish, and Swed 
ish coasts are published jointly on the Internet. 
Marine Environmental Data Base 
A new agreement has been concluded with the Fed 
eral Environmental Agency concerning joint operation 
of the Marine Environmental Data Base. It ensures the