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

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 217; pp. 85 - 96
• Main Authors: McGoldrick, Daryl J., Murphy, Elizabeth W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2016
• Subjects: Animals; Biomonitoring; Canada; Ecosystem; Environmental contaminants; Environmental Monitoring; Fish; Freshwater; Great lakes; Great Lakes Region; International Cooperation; Marine; Perches - metabolism; Salvelinus namaycush; Trout - metabolism; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; North America, Great Lakes Basin; ANW, Canada; ANE, Sweden, Stockholm; USA; North America, Great Lakes; Great lakes; Fish; Biomonitoring; Environmental contaminants
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.12.019

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.
•Five years of contaminant biomonitoring in the Great Lakes are summarized.•Includes Legacy POPs and emerged and emerging contaminants from targeted analyses.•Provides an integrated snapshot of the current contaminant burden in Great Lakes fish.•Despite declines, legacy POPs, such as PCBs, are still the most abundant contaminants.
In the Great Lakes basin, legacy pollutants, such as PCBs, are still the most abundant contributors to contaminant burden of Lake Trout and Walleye based on long-term monitoring programs in Canada and the United States.