Assessing the fish consumption beneficial use impairment in the Bay of Quinte

Abstract

The state of contamination in Bay of Quinte fish was assessed to determine whether delisting criteria have been met, and to recommend further studies/actions to be undertaken. We examined fish contaminant data collected by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment between 1975 and 2008 for seven sites in Lake Ontario including the Bay of Quinte. Where sufficient data was available, we tested for differences in recent years by examining the post-1998 data for Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch and Brown Bullhead. Our analysis specifically focused on known contaminants of concern within the Bay of Quinte: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury (Hg), as well as Mirex which is known to originate from Lake Ontario. Insufficient data was available for the examination of total TEQs (dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs). When appropriate, we used the general linear model (GLM) to compare contaminant concentrations among sites as a function of fish length. When no significant relationship between contaminant concentration and fish length was found, mean values among sites were compared using analysis of variance. While there were no significant differences for the majority of contaminants among sites, some species and contaminant combinations at one or more of the Bay of Quinte sites had elevated fish concentrations compared to some reference sites. For instance, mercury concentrations in Yellow Perch and Brown Bullhead at Quinte sites exceeded those from some reference sites. Current consumption restrictions for Brown Bullhead and Yellow Perch are more severe in the Upper Bay of Quinte compared to the other sites, indicating impacts of local sources. As a result, the fish consumption beneficial use impairment continues to be classified as impaired for the Bay of Quinte. As many sport fish such as Walleye and Smallmouth Bass are large, long-lived and potentially wide-ranging species, it is difficult to link contaminant concentrations to local sources. To investigate the impact of sources within the Upper Bay of Quinte, comparison of contaminants in sentinel fish collected on the same scale as the source of the contamination is recommended.