The use of fish diseases to monitor marine pollution is reviewed and evaluated, with particular reference to the North Sea and associated waters. Criteria for epidemiological surveys are outlined, an international overview of research is given, and recent studies in the North Sea area are described and evaluated. The basic approach is to identify spatial and temporal patterns of disease prevalence, which can be related to pollution. A major obstacle is to distinguish effects of pollution from those of other variables, especially as most diseases appear to have a multifactorial aetiology.
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