Petition to List Lynn Canal Pacific Herring under the Endangered ...

experimentally exposed to oil. In laboratory tests, prespawn herring were
negatively impacted by exposure to oil, principally by suppression of the immune
system and increased expression of disease. Induction of aryl hydrocarbon
hydroxylase, suppression of leukocytes, increased prevalence of viral
hemorrhagic septicemia virus, and mortality were correlated with polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbon concentration. However, exposure of adult herring caused
negligible damage in progeny at high concentrations (58 ppb aqueous polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbon). In contrast, exposure of incubating eggs to comparably
weathered oil caused significant morphological defects at 9 ppb and effects of
more weathered oil were significant at concentrations as low as 0.2 ppb
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons; chromosomal aberrations were observed at
0.7 ppb. Most larvae with genetic defects would likely die due to concomitant
morphological abnormalities.
(Carls et al. 1997). Large oil spills are not the only threat posed by hydrocarbon
pollution.
Persistent, but minute amounts of hydrocarbons also have negative effects on
Pacific Herring. Hershberger et al. (2005) analyzed the Pacific Herring at Cherry Point,
WA to determine the observed declines in survival.
Elevated prevalence of skeletal abnormalities at the southern extreme of the study
range during the 1999 in situ egg exposures were likely caused by suboptimal
environmental conditions along the spawning shoreline. It is possible that these
conditions originated from industrial activities along the Cherry Point shoreline
because the three southernmost stations were located on the south side of a
petroleum off-loading pier and either side of a similar pier used for an aluminum
smelting operation. Exposure of fertilized Pacific herring eggs to levels of
petroleum hydrocarbons as low as 0.01 mg/L can cause low weight at hatch and
DNA damage to developing Pacific herring embryos, while higher levels can
result in physical defects and premature hatch to larvae (Kocan et al. 1996).
(Hershberger et al. 2005).
3. Anthropogenic Noise Pollution
The cumulative impact of increasing noise from ships, oil and gas exploration,
and general human activity in marine environments is substantial. In the range of the
Lynn Canal Herring, marine noise has steadily increased with the development of cities
and ports in and around Juneau and Haines. The proposed mining, road building and
commercial development of the region will significantly increase the amount of noise in
the waters of Lynn Canal.
Pacific Herring use noise pulses to communicate and are sensitive to noises at low
and high frequencies.
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