Presentation Abstract
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent bioaccumulative toxics are known to accumulate in fish residing in the Lower Duwamish River. However, existing sediment chemistry data also suggest contaminant concentrations in the Lower Green River sub-basin may be high enough to impact aquatic life. Juvenile Chinook salmon spend variable lengths of time in different reaches of the Green-Duwamish system before entering Puget Sound. Recent publications on Green-Duwamish juvenile Chinook body burden and adult return rates suggest Chinook salmon health and survival may be impacted by exposure to PCBs or other contaminants in the Green-Duwamish River. Understanding the relative contributions of Lower Green River and the Lower Duwamish River to overall contaminant exposure for juvenile Chinook will indicate if there is a need to address contaminants upstream of the Lower Duwamish River to improve juvenile Chinook health and survival. In 2013, King County initiated a long-term tissue monitoring program for three major lakes (Lakes Sammamish, Washington, and Union) and two major rivers (Green and Cedar rivers). Each waterbody is monitored every 5 years. In 2017, King County collected resident fish in the Lower and Middle Green River and obtained juvenile Chinook from smolt traps in the Lower Green River. Whole body wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook were analyzed for PCBs. These tissue results provide a point of comparison with juvenile Chinook data collected by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay to tease out spatial differences in PCB exposure along their migratory route.
Session Title
Snapshot Presentations
Keywords
Chinook, PCBs
Conference Track
SSE17: Snapshots
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE17-521
Start Date
5-4-2018 10:25 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 10:30 AM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Chinook salmon--Monitoring--Washington (State)--Duwamish River; Polychlorinated biphenyls--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Duwamish River
Geographic Coverage
Duwamish River (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
PCBs in Lower Green River juvenile Chinook salmon
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent bioaccumulative toxics are known to accumulate in fish residing in the Lower Duwamish River. However, existing sediment chemistry data also suggest contaminant concentrations in the Lower Green River sub-basin may be high enough to impact aquatic life. Juvenile Chinook salmon spend variable lengths of time in different reaches of the Green-Duwamish system before entering Puget Sound. Recent publications on Green-Duwamish juvenile Chinook body burden and adult return rates suggest Chinook salmon health and survival may be impacted by exposure to PCBs or other contaminants in the Green-Duwamish River. Understanding the relative contributions of Lower Green River and the Lower Duwamish River to overall contaminant exposure for juvenile Chinook will indicate if there is a need to address contaminants upstream of the Lower Duwamish River to improve juvenile Chinook health and survival. In 2013, King County initiated a long-term tissue monitoring program for three major lakes (Lakes Sammamish, Washington, and Union) and two major rivers (Green and Cedar rivers). Each waterbody is monitored every 5 years. In 2017, King County collected resident fish in the Lower and Middle Green River and obtained juvenile Chinook from smolt traps in the Lower Green River. Whole body wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook were analyzed for PCBs. These tissue results provide a point of comparison with juvenile Chinook data collected by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay to tease out spatial differences in PCB exposure along their migratory route.
