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Contaminants in white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus ) from the upper Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada
Author(s) -
MacDonald Donald D.,
Ikonomou Michael G.,
Rantalaine AnnaLea,
Rogers I. Hal,
Sutherland David,
Van Oostdam Jay
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620160313
Subject(s) - sturgeon , mercury (programming language) , polychlorinated dibenzofurans , contamination , acipenser , fish <actinopterygii> , environmental science , fishery , polychlorinated dibenzodioxins , environmental chemistry , white (mutation) , ecology , chemistry , biology , programming language , computer science , biochemistry , gene
Four white sturgeon were collected from the upper Fraser River near Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, in the fall of 1991 and 1992. Two additional fish were taken from the Fraser River near Williams Lake, some 250 km downstream of Prince George. Samples of white muscle, red muscle, liver, and roe were analyzed for metals, polychlorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), non‐ ortho and mono – ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorophenols to determine whether the tissues of this species were acceptable for human consumption. The concentrations of mercury in the white muscle and liver of several fish from the upper Fraser River exceeded the provincial tissue residue criteria for people who consumed low quantities of fish (i.e., 210 g wet weight/week). The concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs (expressed as 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin toxic equivalents) in red muscle and liver of these fish exceeded the Health Canada working guidelines for the protection of human health. By comparison, white sturgeon collected in the lower Fraser River had much lower concentrations of metals and organic contaminants. The differences in contaminant burdens in fish from the two widely separated reaches of the river reflect their proximity to or distance from known contaminant sources.