Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments

Data constraints on Model Testing: An overview of the available MOE data in

Lake Ontario Fish

January 19-20, 2006

Alan HaytonSport Fish and Biomonitoring Unit

Ministry of EnvironmentEnvironmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch

• 1970 - Fish contaminant monitoring started in Ontario to address Hg problem in St. Clair River

• 1975 - SFCMP started to consolidate all monitoring• 1977 - Guide publication started• 2005 - Guide produced biennially- 350,000 copies/issue

- advice on 1700+ locations (Great Lakes and interconnecting channels and inland lakes and rivers)

• Database ~1,500,000 records +60,000 annually• Analyze >5,000 fish annually• Contaminants – Total mercury in all samples; metals,

PCBs, dioxins, furans, dioxin-like PCBs, OC pesticides, emerging contaminants

Sport Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program

• Collect fish over broad size range• Analyze individual fish• Power-series regression curve • Provide consumption advice for 5 cm range (15cm - >75 cm)• Resample frequency depends on number of factors

Sport Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program

Sampling protocol

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

4 meals / month

no consumption

8 meals per month

Lake Ontario Sampling Blocks

Blocks based on number of factors:

• Uniform contaminant concentrations

• Advice from MNR Fisheries biologists

• Commercial fish zones

• Where people fish

• Access points

• Sport fish from Lake Ontario have been analyzed for mercury in all collections between 1975 and 2005

• In FISHBASE, ~ 13,500 records for mercury analysis on Lake Ontario sport fish exist

• 36 species collected: carp, smelt, walleye, northern pike, freshwater drum, pumpkinseed, bluegill, lake trout, coho salmon, chinook salmon, channel catfish, rock bass, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass….

Lake Ontario Sport Fish

Lake Ontario Sport Fish

Mercury in 65cm Coho Salmon from the Credit River

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

Mer

cury

(p

pm

)

Mercury in 60cm Lake Trout from the Western Basin of Lake Ontario

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Mer

cury

(ppm

)

Mercury in 45cm Walleye from the Upper Bay of Quinte

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Mer

cury

(ppm

)

Mercury in 80cm Chinook Salmon from the Credit River

.00

.10

.20

.30

.40

.50

Mer

cury

(ppm

)

Lake Ontario Sport Fish

Mercury in 40cm Freshwater Drum from the Upper & Lower Niagara River

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.7

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

Me

rcu

ry (

pp

m)

Lower

Upper

Credit River Sport Fish

Average annual mercury concentrations in (a) chinook salmon (>75cm) and (b) coho salmon (>55cm). Sample size for each species is approx. 325-350cm.

Source: MOE, Todd French, 2006

[Hg] = -0.006(yr) + 0.375(r2=0.50, P<0.001)

[Hg] = -0.006(yr) + 0.292(r2=0.49, P=0.001)

Ave

rag

e T

Hg

bur

den

(ug

/g

+/-

1 S

D

• Routinely monitors persistent toxic contaminants in forage fish in the Great Lakes and selected inland lakes and rivers

• Forage fish are ideal biomonitors and are useful

for identifying point sources and temporal trends because of their restricted home range (more effective than sport fish)

• Contaminant concentrations in forage fish are compared to tissue residue guidelines (IJC, CCME, NYSDEC)

• These guidelines are based on mammalian and avian studies and are set by various agencies as guidelines for the protection of wildlife consumers of aquatic biota

Forage Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program

• Monitoring forage fish in each of the Great Lakes on a 4 year rotating basis

• Niagara River is currently monitored annually

• Typically 5 replicates per site separated on size

Forage Fish Contaminant Monitoring

Lake Ontario Forage Fish

• Forage fish have been collected from several areas around Lake Ontario since 1977.

• However, mercury analysis was not performed in many of the historical datasets.

• Since 1996, mercury analysis has become a routine in all of the forage fish samples

• A few key areas have a more complete mercury record, such as Niagara River, Humber River, Credit River, Toronto Islands, Burlington Beach and Port Weller.

Lake Ontario Forage FishMercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at

Lewiston

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

2004

Mer

cury

(p

pm

)

Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Queenston

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

Mer

cury

(p

pm

)

Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Niagara-on-the-Lake

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

2004

Mer

cury

(p

pm

)

Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Cayuga Creek

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

Merc

ury

(p

pm

)

Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Burlington Beach

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Toronto Outer Harbour

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Toronto Inner Harbour

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

Lake Ontario Forage Fish