A population approach to fish monitoring: Too much blind trust?

In spite of pronouncements on the importance of an ecological or ecosystem approach to environmental issues, even a straightforward request such as the quantification of the effects of contaminants on a fish population can be inexorably difficult. Although no panacea for determining population reductions, biomarkers can be a useful tool for providing guidance on whether and to what extent health effects are occurring in a population. Except for their use in environmental effects monitoring (EEM) programs around oil development sites on the east coast, Canada has been a laggard in the application of biomarkers. Part of this stems from some agencies still continuing to advocate a population approach, a position which has major scientific drawbacks and probably represents too much blind trust.