Concentration and distribution of contaminants in lake trout and walleye from the Laurentian Great Lakes (2008–2012)

Abstract

Biomonitoring programs for persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic chemicals of concern in fish tissues have been operated by the governments of Canada and the United States in the Great Lakes since the 1970's. The objectives of these programs are to assess concentrations of harmful chemicals in whole body top predator fish as an indicator of ecosystem health and to infer potential harm to fish and fish consuming wildlife in the Great Lakes Basin. Chemicals of interest are selected based upon national and binational commitments, risk assessment, and regulation, and include a wide range of compounds. This review summarizes all available data generated by Environment Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for chemicals measured in whole body homogenates of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and Walleye (Sander vitreus) for the time period spanning 2008 to 2012 from each of the five Great Lakes. The summary shows that concentrations of legacy compounds, such as, POPs listed in the Stockholm Convention and mercury continue to dominate the chemical burden of Great Lakes fish. This assessment, and others like it, can guide the creation of environmental quality targets where they are lacking, optimize chemical lists for monitoring, and prioritize chemicals of concern under agreements such as the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Stockholm Convention.

Fish consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes in Manitoba First Nations communities

“…DDE and PCB were not detectable in walleye and northern pike, whereas lake trout had the highest concentrations. Elevated concentrations of POP in lake trout were also documented in other studies (McGoldrick and Murphy 2015). The concentrations of DDE and PCB in fish species were comparable across four Manitoba ecozones.…”

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides concentration patterns and trends in top predator fish of Laurentian Great Lakes from 1999 to 2014

“…The United States and Canada have been collecting and measuring concentrations of legacy contaminants in the Great Lakes (GL) fish, for example lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and walleye (Sander vitreus) since the late 1970s as part of what is now called the Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program (GLFMSP) in the U.S. (Chang et al, 2012;Zananski et al, 2011;Zhou et al, 2017) and in Canada the Sports Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (SFCMP) (Bhavsar et al, 2007) and the Fish Contaminants Monitoring and Surveillance Program (FCMSP) (McGoldrick and Murphy, 2016). Additionally, PCBs were designated as a Chemical of Mutual Concern (CMC) by the Governments of Canada and the United States in February of 2014, under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).…”

“…For these chemicals (like toxaphene), LS and LH have higher concentrations because of their larger surface areas and long water residence times (Xia et al, 2012). PCBs and DDTs are the dominant organic contaminants in fish tissue and can be up to 10-100 times higher in average concentration than other organic contaminants (Chang et al, 2012;McGoldrick and Murphy, 2016).…”

Ten years of global monitoring under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): Trends, sources and transport modelling

“…McGoldrick and Murphy (2016) found that concentration patterns of most POPs in fish follow human population densities in the North American Great Lakes Basin. Camenzuli et al (2016) showed that pesticide concentrations are globally significantly higher in agricultural soil than background soil.…”

“…Cincinelli et al, 2016;Graf et al, 2016;Hung et al, 2016;Rig et et al, 2016;McGoldrick and Murphy, 2016;Venier et al, 2016;Shunthirasingham et al, 2016;Takazawa et al, 2016), but for some of the newer POPs and chemicals of emerging concern [e.g. per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)], clear temporal trends are still not observed Hung et al, 2016;McGoldrick and Murphy, 2016).…”