| Summary: | The Fraser River watershed, British Columbia provides habitat for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which delivers food for First Nations, recreational anglers, commercial fisheries and endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW, Orcinus orca). Extensive forestry, agricultural, industrial and urban activities take place in the Fraser Valley exposing early life history stages of Chinook to a mix of legacy and emerging contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Many of these contaminants can elicit adverse health effects in vertebrates, including endocrine disruption and reproductive effects. However, there exists limited information on the nature of contaminants discharged into salmon habitat in British Columbia, hampering solution-oriented opportunities for natural resource managers and stakeholders. The present study characterizes priority pollutants in juvenile chinook salmon, water, and sediments throughout the Fraser Estuary. Samples were collected in the proximity of two large wastewater treatment plants. A number of analytes detected in fish tissue, sediment, and effluent, were not detected in estuarine waters, suggesting bioaccumulation of these compounds. This study is the first step toward a comprehensive risk-based evaluation of contaminants of concern to wild juvenile chinook in the Fraser Estuary. Results will support the Government of Canada’s Whales Initiative in its quest to identify those contaminants of greatest concern to the primary prey of SRKW and to guide recovery efforts.
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