From Mussel Watch to Future Coastal Forecasting: Reframing Background Metal Baselines Across Baltic and Malaysian Coastal Waters

Abstract

Marine mussels have long served as reliable sentinel organisms for assessing trace metal contamination in coastal ecosystems because they efficiently accumulate contaminants from surrounding waters and suspended particulates over time. Classical biomonitoring initiatives such as the Mussel Watch programme established the foundation for long term environmental surveillance and generated comparable records of coastal pollution across geographical regions. However, increasing environmental complexity associated with urbanization, climate change, and anthropogenic pressures now requires a broader interpretation of mussel derived information beyond conventional contamination assessment. This perspective reconsiders the significance of historical background metal data in marine mussels and proposes a transition from traditional monitoring toward predictive coastal forecasting. Drawing upon complementary evidence from the southern Baltic Sea and the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, this paper discusses how soft tissues, byssus, and shells function as biological archives recording environmental conditions across different temporal scales. Rather than viewing background concentrations solely as static reference values, we argue that they represent environmental memory capable of supporting ecotoxicological forecasting, sustainability assessments, and environmental decision making. The integration of historical biomonitoring datasets with predictive frameworks offers opportunities for developing early warning systems, forecasting contamination trends, and strengthening Environmental, Social, And Governance (ESG) strategies. Within the broader planetary health framework, long term biological archives may facilitate stronger connections between environmental quality, ecosystem resilience, and human wellbeing. The transition from Mussel Watch to future coastal forecasting may therefore represent an important conceptual evolution in biomonitoring science, transforming marine mussels from passive recorders of environmental contamination into active contributors to environmental intelligence and sustainable coastal management.

Keywords: Mussel Biomonitoring; Coastal Forecasting; Background Metal Baselines; Environmental Archives; Sustainability

Citation

Chee Kong Yap, Piotr Szefer. From Mussel Watch to Future Coastal Forecasting: Reframing Background Metal Baselines Across Baltic and Malaysian Coastal Waters. WebLog J Environ Sci. wjets.2026.g2706. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21734331