2007 Status Review of Atlantic sturgeon - National Marine Fisheries ...

• Twenty juvenile Gulf sturgeon from the Suwannee River in Florida exhibited an increase
in metals burdens with an increase in fish length (Alam et al. 2000).
• In a California study involving laboratory exposures, white sturgeon larvae had a
significantly increased incidence of defects with selenium levels greater than 15 µg/g (R.
Linville, UC-Davis. Pers. Comm. 2006).
• Kootenai River white sturgeon exhibited organochlorine levels that could potentially
affect reproduction or other physiological functions (Kruse and Scarnecchia (2002a).
• Growth and reproductive impacts were observed in Columbia River white sturgeon,
where plasma triglycerides and conditions factors were negatively correlated with total
DDT, total pesticides, and PCBs (Feist et al. 2005). In males, plasma androgens and
gonad size were also negatively correlated with total DDT, total pesticides, and PCBs.
• Kruse and Scarnecchia (2002b) noted that the mortality of white sturgeon embryos was
significantly different between individuals reared in different media (Fuller’s earth 12.6%
versus river bottom sediment 20.6%), which was related to copper and Aroclor 125
(PCB) concentrations.
• Dioxin and furans were detected in ovarian tissue from shortnose sturgeon caught in the
Sampit River/Winyah Bay system (SC). Results showed that four out of seven fish
tissues analyzed contained tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) concentrations greater
than 50 pg/g (parts-per-trillion), a level which can adversely affect the development of
sturgeon fry (J. LLIff, NOAA, Damage Assessment Center, Silver Spring, MD,
unpublished data).
• Shortnose sturgeon collected from the Delaware and Kennebec rivers had total toxicity
equivalent concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs),
polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), PCBs, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene
(DDE), aluminum, cadmium, and copper above adverse effect concentration levels
reported in the literature (Environmental Research and Consulting 2002, 2003).
• In a study of white sturgeon from the Columbia River (Webb et al. 2006), mercury
concentrations were measured in several types of tissues from legal-size fish (110 – 137
cm FL) and a mature adult female (170 kg, 262 cm FL). Tissue mercury content was
correlated with suppressed circulating sex steroids, decreased condition factor and
relative weight, and a lower gonadosomatic index in immature male fish. A significant
positive linear relationship was determined between age and liver mercury
concentrations. Mercury concentration in muscle tissue from the mature adult female
(1.094 ppm) exceeded state and Federal action limits.
The EPA published its second edition of the National Coastal Condition Report (NCCR II) in
2004, which is a “report card” summarizing the status of coastal environments along the coast of
the United States (EPA 2004). The report analyzes water quality, sediment, coastal habitat,
benthos, and fish contaminant indices to determine status. An overall grade of F was given to
the Northeast region (Virginia - Maine) where water quality, sediment, benthos, and fish tissues
received a grade of D or F (Table 9). The Chesapeake Bay was also analyzed as a separate
region within the Northeast and received a score of F in all status indices, except for coastal
habitat, which was not evaluated (no coastal habitat). However, the Southeast region (North
Carolina - Florida) received an overall grade of B-, which is the best rating in the nation with no
indices below a grade of C (Table 9). Areas of concern that had poor index scores were: 1)
Hudson River – water quality, sediment, and tissue contaminants, 2) Delaware River – water
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