Our I.ivini; Resources — Human Influences 



411 



Winter llounder 



Atlantic croalier 



While croaker 



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Casco Bay 



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 0.8 

 0.6 

 0.4 

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 20,000 



Reproductive impairment occurred in fisii 

 from Eagle Harbor and Duwamish Waterway in 

 Puget Sound, San Francisco and San Pedro 

 bays, and in Morris Cove. Significantly lower 

 levels of estradiol (a reproductive hormone) and 

 vitellogenin (yolk protein critical to the devel- 

 opment of fertile eggs for reproduction) have 

 been found in English sole from contaminated 

 sites in Puget Sound than those at relatively 

 clean sites (Johnson et al. 1989). Also, a signif- 

 icant proportion of fish from contaminated sites 

 failed to produce yolked eggs and undergo nor- 

 mal ovarian development. Moreover, fewer 

 English sole spawned from the Duwamish 

 Waterway (54%) in comparison with those from 

 Port Susan during the 1987 and 1988 reproduc- 

 tive seasons (Casillas et al. 1991). 



White croaker from a site near Los Angeles 

 and kelp bass (Paralabra.x clathmtus) from San 

 Pedro Bay had lower reproductive succcess than 

 those from less contaminated sites at Dana 

 Point and Santa Catalina Island (Cross and 

 Hose 1989). In this study, the percentage of 

 spawning fish was 24%-68% lower, batch 

 fecundity (number of eggs produced) was 36%- 

 44% lower, and the proportion of eggs fertilized 

 was 14%-45% lower at the contaminated site. 

 Gonadally mature female starry flounders from 

 an urbanized central San Francisco Bay site off 

 Berkeley had a reduced proportion of floating 

 eggs and poorer fertilization success than those 

 captured at a site in northern San Pablo Bay 

 (Spies and Rice 1988). In Long Island Sound, 

 embryo abnonnalities were most frequent and 

 hatching success was lowest in female winter 

 flounders from more contaminated sites near 

 Milford and New Haven; larvae were smallest 

 off Deer Island, a highly contaminated site in 

 Boston Harbor (Nelson et al. 1991). Thus, we 

 conclude that at contaminated sites the observed 



lower reproductive success of sampled benthic 

 fish could have long-term effects on spawning 

 populations from contaminated sediments. 



Impacts of Contaminants on Coastal 

 Ecosystems 



Results from NS&T monitoring have helped 

 define the body burdens of to.xic contaminants, 

 evaluate trends in these contaminant data, and 

 assess certain related biological effects in fish 

 and shellfish from more than 350 estuarine and 

 coastal sites over the past 10 years. 

 Contaminant levels have been found to be quite 

 low in most U.S. coastal areas, although sub- 

 stantially elevated levels of a number of con- 

 taminants have been measured near most major 

 urban centers. Some biological effects associat- 

 ed with contaminants have been found near 

 these same urban centers, but there is little indi- 

 cation of widespread acute biological effects on 

 benthic fishes and bivalves associated with 

 toxic contaminants throughout most of the U.S. 

 coastal waters. Overall, contaminant levels have 

 been stable or, for a few contaminants, decreas- 

 ing in the past few years. 



References 



Ca.sillas. E.. D. Misitano, L.L. Johnson. L.D. Rhodes, T.K. 

 Collier, J.E. Stein. B.B. McCain, and U. Varanasi. 1991. 

 Inducibility of spawning and reproductive success of 

 female English sole [Parophiys veiulus) from urban and 

 nonurhan areas of Puget Sound. Washington. Marine 

 Environmental Res. 31:99-122. 



Cross. J.N.. and J.E. Hose. 1989. Reproductive impairment 

 in two species of fish from contaminated areas off south- 

 em California. Oceans "89 Conference Proceedings 

 2:382-384. 



Fish Consumption Database. 1993. State fish consumption 

 advisories and bans listed in the Fish Consumption 

 Database. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 215 

 pp. 



East coast 

 Gulf coast 

 West coast 

 National median 



Fig. 3. Lead (Pb) and total DDT 

 in fish livers from the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's National Status 

 and Trends Program coastal sites. 

 Bar graphs are 5-year (1984-88) 

 mean concentrations (Pb measure- 

 ments in parts per million dry 

 weight; total DDT in parts per bil- 

 lion dry weight) and standard 

 deviations ("T" symbols on bars). 



