2.0 Methods 
Methods for the 2003 survey of condition of the continental shelf of the West 
Coast were in general the same as those developed for the EPA National Coastal 
Assessment (Nelson et al. 2004), with modifications to reflect the generally deeper 
nature of the resource being assessed. 
Sampling for a major portion of the survey area (Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA, to 
Point Conception, CA) was conducted on NOAA Ship McARTHUR II Cruise AR-03-01- 
NC, June 1-26, 2003 (Cooksey 2003). The cruise consisted of three legs: Leg 1 along 
the Washington coast (Seattle to Astoria, OR, June 1-8); Leg 2 along the Oregon coast 
(Astoria, OR to Eureka, CA, June 8-16); and Leg 3 along the California coast, from the 
Oregon border to Pt. Conception (Eureka, CA to Pt. Conception and back to San 
Francisco, CA, June 18-26). Samples were collected from the deck of the McARTHUR 
II during around-the-clock operations. 
At each station, samples were obtained for characterization of: 1) community 
structure and composition of benthic macroinfauna (fauna retained on a 1.0-mm sieve); 
2) concentration of chemical contaminants in sediments (metals, pesticides, PCBs, 
PAHs); 3) general habitat conditions (water depth, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, 
temperature, chlorophyll a, light transmittance, water-column nutrients, % silt-clay 
versus sand content of sediment, organic-carbon content of sediment); and 4) condition 
of selected demersal fish species caught by hook-and-line (contaminant body burdens 
and visual evidence of pathological disorders). 
2.1 Sampling Design 
2.1.1 EMAP 
A major target to be assessed was the soft-sediment benthic resources and 
overlying water quality of the continental shelf, in the depth range between 30 and 120 
m, from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington to the Mexican border. Given the high 
cost of research ship time and the desire to insure that attempts at sampling rocky 
bottoms were minimized, considerable effort was taken to develop a GIS data layer of 
only soft sediment habitat. No comprehensive bottom type map of the continental shelf 
of West Coast existed at the time of this study, although data were provided by several 
individuals at research institutions that were developing such maps under NOAA 
funding. An attempt was also made to obtain the general locations of commercial 
submarine cable crossings, and these zones, along with high activity shipping channels 
and other restricted access regions were omitted from the GIS layer defining the target 
resource area. 
The study utilized a stratified random sampling design, known as a Generalized 
Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) survey design. The EMAP/NCA sampling effort 
consisted of a total of 150 stations that were distributed across the sampling area, 
partitioned in several ways. Each of the three states received 50 stations. In 
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