This report describes the activities and results from 1985 within the open sea programme of the national Swedish monitoring programme. The open sea programme also forms major part of the Swedish contribution to the Baltic Monitoring Programme of the Helsinki Commission. Two regular oceanographic cruises were carried out in the Baltic and the Gulf of Bothnia and three in the Kattegat. Standard oceanographic parameters including nutrients were analysed and various biological samples were taken including fish and mussel samples for analysis of harmful substances. The oceanographic conditions in the Kattegat area were normal, whereas in the Eastern Baltic bad oxygen conditions with hydrogen sulphide prevailed in the bottom water for the eighth year. In the southern Baltic and west of Gotland hydrogen sulphide was found in the bottom water only during the second half of the year. The winter concentrations of phosphate in the surface layer are still increasing east of Gotland as showed earlier. A preliminary evaluation of the petroleum hydrocarbon analyses shows that the concentrations may be decreasing as compared to during the 70-ies .