Executive Summary 
The western National Coastal Assessment (NCA-West) program of EPA, in 
conjunction with the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), conducted an assessment 
of the status of ecological condition of soft sediment habitats and overlying waters along 
the western U.S. continental shelf, between the target depths of 30 and 120 m, during 
June 2003. NCA-West and NOAA/NOS partnered with the West Coast states 
(Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), and California (CA)), and the Southern California 
Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) Bight ’03 program to conduct the survey. 
A total of 257 stations were sampled from Cape Flattery, WA to the Mexican border 
using standard methods and indicators applied in previous coastal NCA projects. A key 
study feature was the incorporation of a stratified-random sampling design with stations 
stratified by state and National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) status. Each of the three 
states was represented by at least 50 random stations. There also were a total of 84 
random stations located within NOAA’s five NMSs along the West Coast including the 
Olympic Coast NMS (OCNMS), Cordell Bank NMS (CBNMS), Gulf of Farallones NMS 
(GFNMS), Monterey Bay NMS (MBNMS), and Channel Islands NMS (CINMS). 
Collection of flatfish via hook-and-line for fish-tissue contaminant analysis was 
successful at 50 EMAP/NCA-West stations. Through a collaboration developed with the 
FRAM Division of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, fish from an additional 63 
stations in the same region and depth range were also analyzed for fish-tissue 
contaminants. 
Bottom depth throughout the region ranged from 28 m to 125 m for most stations. 
Two slightly deeper stations from the Southern California Bight (SCB) (131, 134 m) 
were included in the data set. About 44% of the survey area had sediments composed 
of sands (< 20% silt-clay), about 47% was composed of intermediate muddy sands (20- 
80% silt-clay), and about 9% was composed of muds (> 80% silt-clay). The majority of 
the survey area (97%) had relatively low percent total organic carbon (TOC) levels of 
< 2%, while a small portion (< 1%) had high TOC levels (> 5%), in a range potentially 
harmful to benthic fauna. 
Salinity of surface waters for 92% of the survey area were > 31 psu, with most 
stations < 31 psu associated with the Columbia River plume. Bottom salinities ranged 
only between 31.6 and 34.4 psu. There was virtually no difference in mean bottom 
salinities among states or between NMS and non-NMS stations. Temperatures of 
surface water (range 8.5 -19.9 °C) and bottom water (range 5.8 -14.7 °C) averaged 
several degrees higher in CA in comparison to WA and OR. The Ao t index of water- 
column stratification indicated that about 31% of the survey area had strong vertical 
stratification of the water column. The index was greatest for waters off WA and lowest 
for CA waters. 
Only about 2.6 % of the survey area had surface dissolved oxygen (DO) 
concentrations < 4.8 mg/L, and there were no values below the lower threshold (2.3 
mg/L) considered harmful to the survival and growth of marine animals. Surface DO 
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