MINIREVIEWS Oceans and Human Health (OHH): a European Perspective from the Marine Board of the European Science Foundation (Marine Board-ESF) Michael N. Moore & Michael H. Depledge & Lora Fleming & Philipp Hess & David Lees & Paul Leonard & Lise Madsen & Richard Owen & Hans Pirlet & Jan Seys & Vitor Vasconcelos & Aldo Viarengo & Marine Board-ESF Working Group on Oceans and Human Health Received: 17 January 2013 / Accepted: 21 February 2013 / Published online: 16 March 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract The oceans and coastal seas provide mankind with many benefits including food for around a third of the global population, the air that we breathe and our climate system which enables habitation of much of the planet. However, the converse is that generation of natural events (such as hurricanes, severe storms and tsunamis) can have devastating impacts on coastal populations, while pollution of the seas by pathogens and toxic waste can cause illness and death in humans and animals. Harmful effects from biogenic toxins pro- duced by algal blooms (HABs) and from the pathogens associated with microbial pollution are also a health hazard in seafood and from direct contact with water. The overall global burden of human disease caused by M. N. Moore Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK M. N. Moore : M. H. Depledge : L. Fleming European Centre for Environment & Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, Cornwall TR1 3HD, UK M. N. Moore School of Biomedical & Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK M. N. Moore (*) : A. Viarengo DISIT - Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Innovative, Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Viale Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy e-mail: mnm@pml.ac.uk P. Hess Centre Atlantique, Laboratoire Phycotoxines, IFREMER, BP 21105 Rue de l’Ile d’Yeu, 44311 Nantes CEDEX 03, France D. Lees Cefas, The Nothe, Barrack Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, UK P. Leonard Faculty of Science & Technology, Level 3, Marine Building, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK L. Madsen National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research, University of Bergen, Postbox 2029, Nordnes N-5817 Bergen, Norway L. Madsen Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløesvej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark R. Owen University of Exeter Business School, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4PU, UK H. Pirlet : J. Seys Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee, InnovOcean site, Wandelaarkaai 7, B-8400 0ostende, Belgium V. Vasconcelos CIIMAR/CIMAR, Marine and Environmental Research Centre, Porto University, Rua dos Bragas, 289 Porto, Portugal Microb Ecol (2013) 65:889–900 DOI 10.1007/s00248-013-0204-5