NOAA Technical Memorandum


NMFS Series


The Northwest Fisheries Science Center of the National 

Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, uses the NoAA 

Technical Memorandum NMFS series to issue informal 

scientific and technical publications when complete formal 

review and editorial processing are not appropriate or 

fesaible due to time constraints. Documents published in this 

series may be referenced in the scientific and technical 

literature. 

The NMFS-NWFSC Technical Memorandum series of the 

Northwest Fisheries Science Center continues the NMFSF/NWC series established in 1970 by the Northwest & 

Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which has since been split 

into the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the Alaska 

Fisheries Science Center. The NMFS-AFSC Technical 

Memorandum series is now being used by the Alaska 

Fisheries Science Center. 

Reference throughout this document to trade names does 

not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries 

Service, NOAA. 

This document should be cited as follows: 

McCain, B.B., D.W. Brown, S.-L. Chan, J.T. Landahl, 

W.D. MacLeod, Jr., M.M. Krahn, C.A. Sloan, K.L. 

Tilbury, S.M. Pierce, D.G. Burrows, and U. Varanasi. 

2000. National benthic surveillance project: Pacific Coast. 

Organic chemical contaminants, cycle i to vii (1984-90). 

U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFSNWFSC-40, 121 p. 
i
ii 

Most NOAA Technical Memorandums NMFS-NWFSC are 

available on-line at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center 

web site (http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov) 

Copies are also available from: 

National Technical Information Service 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

phone orders (1-800-553-6847) 

e-mail orders (orders@ntis.fedworld.gov) 
iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


As a component of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National 

Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, the National Benthic Surveillance Project (NBSP) monitored levels of contaminants in sediment and bottomfish and prevalences of pathological conditions in bottomfish at selected sites throughout the U.S. coastline. This memorandum summarizes and interprets the status and trends of the organic chemical contaminants for 50 sites in 

Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California for the years 1984-1990 and includes results of 

3213 chemical analyses of sediment, fish stomach contents, fish liver, and bile samples. Thirtyone of these sites were in or near urban centers and were selected to be as representative as 

possible of waste inputs from multiple sources, although the sites were not necessarily representative of entire embayments. 

Uniform sampling protocols and state-of-the-art analytical methods have produced an extensive 

database, which includes detailed information on the distribution of selected polycyclic aromatic 

hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides (CHs) in surficial sediments and stomach contents of selected species of bottom-feeding 

fish. Coprostanol (COP) was determined in sediment samples as a marker compound of sewage. 

The PAHs were divided into two classes of compounds: lower molecular weight PAHs (LAHs), 

having two to three aromatic rings; and higher molecular weight PAHs (HAHs), having four to 

six aromatic rings. Livers were not analyzed for PAHs because they are of limited value due to 

the extensive biotransformation of these compounds to more polar metabolic products, most of 

which are readily excreted into the bile. Therefore, exposure of fish to PAHs was estimated by 

measuring fluorescent aromatic compounds (FACs) in bile and to PAHs in stomach contents. 

Concentrations of biliary FACs are reported as benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (FACs-H), representing the HAHs; or naphthalene equivalents (FACs-L), representing LAHs. Liver tissues of fish 

were analyzed for CHs, PCBs (tri- through decachlorobiphenyls), and several CHs including 2,2­

bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs); chlordanes (a-chlordane 

and trans-nonachlor), dieldrin, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). 

The overall findings from the NBSP for the period 1984-90 indicated that the highest concentrations of most sediment-associated organic contaminants were present in the most highly urbanized areas, and that many of the organic contaminants were bioaccumulated by indigenous 

marine fish species. The highest levels of organic contaminants were found at sites in San 

Francisco Bay (Hunters Point, Oakland Estuary), Santa Monica Bay, San Pedro Bay (Los Angeles and Long Beach), San Diego Bay, and Puget Sound (Seattle and Tacoma). 

Sampling Site Contamination 

In San Francisco Bay, concentrations of PAHs in sediment from sites near the Hunters Point and 

Oakland Estuary sites were among the highest on the West Coast. These high concentrations 

were reflected in the levels of FACs in bile of starry flounder (Platicthys stellatus) and white 
iv 

croaker (Genyonemus lineatus) from these sites. Concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, chlordanes and 

dieldrin in sediments from San Francisco Bay tended to be moderate compared to other urbanized bays; however, mean concentrations of these CHs in the livers of starry flounder were 

significantly higher at sites in San Francisco Bay compared to sites in Oregon and Alaska. 

White croaker from the Hunters Point and Oakland Estuary sites had concentrations of CHs that 

were similar to those found in this species from urbanized sites in Southern California, except for 

concentrations of DDTs which were all significantly higher in croaker from sites in the vicinity 

of Los Angeles. 

Within the Southern California Bight, four of the five sites in Santa Monica Bay had concentrations of DDTs and COP (an indicator of human feces in waste water) in sediment that were 

among the highest on the West Coast. Sediment concentrations of PCBs and PAHs were moderate compared to other urbanized sites. However, mean concentrations of both DDTs and PCBs 

in the livers of hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalus) and white croaker were among the 

highest found so far on the West Coast, whereas levels of biliary FACs were generally comparable to most urbanized sites. 

In nearby San Pedro Bay, all four sites had, by a considerable margin, the highest concentrations 

of DDTs in sediment and white croaker found among the West Coast sites. With the exception 

of the Seal Beach site, levels of PCBs in sediment from the sites in this bay were also among the 

highest on the West Coast, and the levels of PCBs in the livers of white croaker from these sites 

were also among the highest for this species. Furthermore, the sediment and white croaker from 

the Long Beach site had high levels of chlordanes compared to most other sites. The levels of 

PAHs were relatively high in sediments from sites in San Pedro Bay, with levels at the Cerritos 

Channel site being among the highest along the coast, and these levels were reflected in the 

levels of FACs found in the bile of white croaker from these sites. 

Sediments from two sites in San Diego Bay, the Twenty-eighth Street Pier site, and the north San 

Diego Bay site, had concentrations of PAHs and PCBs that tended to be higher than most of the 

other West Coast sites. These high sediment concentrations were also reflected in the high 

concentrations of FACs in bile and PCBs in livers of white croaker and barred sand bass 

(Paralabrax nebulifer) from these sites. 

The site in Seattle’s Elliott Bay had sediment concentrations of PAHs and PCBs that were also 

among the highest on the West Coast. This contamination was also reflected in the elevated 

concentrations of FACs in bile and PCBs in liver of English sole (Pleuronichthys vetulus) from 

this site. The site in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay had concentrations of PCBs in sediment and 

livers of English sole that were significantly lower than those found at the Elliott Bay site. The 

levels of most of the other contaminants in sediment and English sole from the Commencement 

Bay site were not significantly different from those at the Elliott Bay site. The exceptions included sediment and liver tissue concentrations of HCB and concentrations of COP in sediments 

at the Commencement Bay site which were among the highest on the West Coast. 

Sediment and fish [English sole, flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassadon), starry flounder, and 

fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis)] samples from sites in Alaska generally had low 
v 

concentrations of PAHs, CHs, and their derivatives. The few exceptions were selected sites in 

the Bering Sea, such as Dutch Harbor, and the Oliktok Point site in the Beaufort Sea. For example, samples of sediment from the Dutch Harbor and Oliktok Point sites had moderate concentrations of HAHs, LAHs, and PCBs, whereas only English sole and flathead sole from Dutch 

Harbor had relatively high concentrations of FACs-L in bile. Of additional interest was the 

finding that starry flounder from two other sites in the Bering Sea had concentrations of FACs-H 

in bile that were significantly higher than for the reference site in Bodega Bay, California. Only 

flathead sole from the Dutch Harbor site had a mean concentration of CHs that was significantly 

higher than the reference site. 

Statistical Assessments 

At many of the sampling sites, concentrations of organic contaminants in sediment appeared to 

be reflected in the concentrations of these contaminants or their derivatives in fish from these 

sites. In order to test this hypothesis, Spearman rank correlations were performed for the organic 

contaminants in three types of samples—sediments, tissues, and stomach contents. The results 

demonstrated that when data from all fish species were combined, strong associations were 

found among concentrations of PCBs, chlordanes, DDTs, HCB and dieldrin in sediment and 

those same chemicals in fish livers, as well as between PAH levels in sediment and their corresponding FACs in fish bile. Concentrations of PCBs, HAHs, DDTs, PAHs, dieldrin, and 

chlordanes in stomach contents were also highly correlated with those in sediments, liver and/or 

bile. 

Similar, but fewer or less significant, correlations were also found for the individual species. 

Correlations between levels of PAHs in sediment and/or stomach contents and levels of FACs in 

bile were found for flathead sole, English sole, white croaker, and barred sand bass. No other 

correlations were found for flathead sole, perhaps because most flathead sole were captured in 

relatively uncontaminated sites in Alaska. Among the remaining five species, significant correlations were found for levels of PCBs and chlordanes in sediment and/or stomach contents and 

levels of these chemicals in livers. 

Another important aspect of the NBSP was to evaluate the presence of temporal trends of concentrations of contaminants in sediment and fish. Trends were evaluated by first performing 

Spearman rank correlations on concentrations of each class of contaminant in sediment and in 

stomach content and tissue for each fish species at each site. The results of these correlations 

were tested for consistency using meta-analysis. Only sites for which analyses had been conducted for at least four years over a five year span were used—12 sites met this criterion. Trend 

analyses were performed for HAHs, LAHs, PCBs, DDTs, dieldrin, and chlordanes. Concentrations of HCB were near or below the limits of detection and were not included in the trends 

analyses. The trend analyses demonstrated that, of the 72 possible trends, 38 showed no trend, 

13 showed decreasing concentrations, and 21 had increasing concentrations. The highest number 

of increasing trends was among the PAHs, eight for HAHs and five for LAHs, followed by 

dieldrin (4), chlordanes (2), DDTs (1) and PCBs (2). Among the decreasing trends, chlordanes, 
vi 

PCBs and DDTs each had three, with dieldrin having two and LAHs one. 

Sites with positive trends for concentrations of PAHs were located in both nonurban and urban 

areas. All three of the nonurban, reference sites in the contiguous U.S. (Dana Point, Bodega 

Bay and Nisqually Reach) had significant increases in HAHs, LAHs, or both. The urban sites 

included Hunters Point and Southampton Shoal in San Francisco Bay, Long Beach and Outer 

Harbor in San Pablo Bay, and Commencement Bay in Puget Sound. The Coos Bay site also had 

increasing concentrations of chlordanes and DDTs. Positive trends for chlordanes were observed 

in the Southampton Shoal site, and increases in dieldrin concentrations were found for the Dana 

Point, South San Diego Bay, Coos Bay and Elliott Bay sites. The only sites with increasing 

concentrations of PCBs were both in Puget Sound—Commencement Bay and Elliott Bay. 

The Dana Point site had the highest number of contaminants with decreasing trends, including 

chlordanes, DDTs, and PCBs. Decreasing trends for dieldrin and DDTs were also found at the 

Hunters Point site, and for PCBs and LAHs at the South San Diego Bay site. The only other 

decreasing trends were found for the following individual contaminant classes at single sites: 

dieldrin (Bodega Bay), DDTs (Hunters Point), chlordanes (Nisqually Reach), PCBs (San Pedro 

Bay Outer Harbor), and chlordanes (West Santa Monica Bay). 

Because the NBSP was a national program in which samples of sediment and fish were collected 

and analyzed in very similar ways, it is possible to compare the results found on the West Coast 

with other regions of the U.S. Such a comparison shows that, with the exception of a few sites in 

Boston Harbor, levels of PAHs in sediments from urban sites on the north Atlantic Coast were 

similar to those from urban sites on the West Coast. Levels of PAHs in sediments from sites in 

the inner portions of Boston Harbor were highest in the U.S. Similarly, aside from a site in New 

Bedford Harbor, levels of PCBs in sediments from urban sites on the north Atlantic and West 

Coasts were similar. The New Bedford Harbor site had the highest sediment levels of PCBs so 

far found in the U.S. Again, with the exception of sites in the above-mentioned harbors, levels of 

PAHs and their derivatives and PCBs in winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) from these 

urbanized sites on the north Atlantic Coast were also comparable to those in fish from similar 

sites on the Pacific Coast. In contrast, levels of DDTs in sediment and fish from sites in the Los 

Angeles area were the highest found in the U.S., whereas levels of DDTs in sediment and fish 

from other sites in the north Atlantic and West Coasts were similar. 
vii 

CONTENTS 

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... i
ii

Sampling Site Contamination ......................................................................................................... i
ii

Statistical Assessments.................................................................................................................. v


List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................ix


List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. xiii


Preface ............................................................................................................................................xv


Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1


Project Rationale ........................................................................................................................ 1


Rationale for Selection of Organic Contaminants ............................................................................ 2


PAHs ................................................................................................................................... 5


LAHs ................................................................................................................................... 5


HAHs .................................................................................................................................. 5


Metabolites of PAHs .......................................................................................................... 5


CHs ..................................................................................................................................... 6


PCBs ................................................................................................................................... 6


DDTs .................................................................................................................................. 6


Hexachlorobenzene, Chlordanes, and Dieldrin ....................................................................... 6


Changes in Analytes Determined During First Seven Years of Program........................................... 7


Methods ........................................................................................................................................... 9


Field Sampling Protocols ........................................................................................................... 9


Analytical Procedures ................................................................................................................. 9


Statistical Analyses................................................................................................................... 14


Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................. 17


Particle Size Characteristics and Percent Total Organic Carbon ............................................. 17


Organic Contaminants in Sediments ........................................................................................ 19


PAHs................................................................................................................................. 19


LAHs and HAHs .............................................................................................................. 19


Coprostanol....................................................................................................................... 23


Hexachlorobenzene .......................................................................................................... 23


PCBs ................................................................................................................................. 23


DDTs ................................................................................................................................ 23


Chlordanes ......................................................................................................................... 23


Dieldrin .............................................................................................................................. 24


Discussion of Sediment Chemistry Data .................................................................................. 24


Organic Contaminants in Fish .................................................................................................. 25


Barred Sand Bass .............................................................................................................. 25


Black Croaker .................................................................................................................... 26


White Croaker ................................................................................................................... 34

viii 

Hornyhead Turbot .............................................................................................................. 41


Starry Flounder .................................................................................................................. 51


English sole ......................................................................................................................... 51


Flathead Sole ..................................................................................................................... 65


Fourhorn Sculpin ................................................................................................................ 65


Fish Diet Composition and Contaminant Uptake.......................................................................... 72


Statistical Correlations ................................................................................................................ 75


All species .......................................................................................................................... 75


Barred sand bass ................................................................................................................ 75 


White croaker .................................................................................................................... 75


Hornyhead turbot ............................................................................................................... 79


Starry flounder .................................................................................................................... 79


English sole ......................................................................................................................... 79


Flathead sole ...................................................................................................................... 79


Summary for fish species ..................................................................................................... 84


Summary Analysis of Statistical Correlations................................................................................ 84


Statistical Analysis of Trends ....................................................................................................... 86


Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 93


Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 97


Citations ......................................................................................................................................... 99


Appendix A. Results of Spearman rank analysis of data used for trends analysis (year sampled vs.


chemical concentration). ................................................................................................................ 107

ix 

LIST OF FIGURES 

Figure 1. Map of the Pacific Coast of the contiguous United States showing the locations of sampling 

sites. ....................................................................................................................................... 10


Figure 2. Map of Alaska showing locations of sampling sites. .......................................................... 11


Figure 3. Percent clay/silt (C/S) and percent total orgaic carbon (TOC) in sediments (dry weight basis)


for years 1984-90. ................................................................................................................. 18


Figure 4. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in sediment. ..................................................................... 20


Figure 5. Coprostanol, hexachlorobenzene, and PCBs in sediment. ................................................. 21


Figure 6. DDTs, chlordanes, and dieldrin in sediment. ..................................................................... 22


Figure 7. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of barred sand bass............................................................. 27


Figure 8. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of barred sand bass. .............................................. 28


Figure 9. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of barred sand bass. ........................................... 29


Figure 10. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in stomachs of barred sand bass. ................................... 30


Figure 11. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in stomachs of barred sand bass. ...................................... 31


Figure 12. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in stomachs of barred sand bass. .................................. 32


Figure 13. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of black croaker. ............................................................... 33


Figure 14. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of black croaker. ................................................. 35


Figure 15. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of black croaker. .............................................. 36


Figure 16. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of white croaker. ............................................................... 37


Figure 17. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of white croaker. ................................................. 39


Figure 18. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of white croaker. .............................................. 40


Figure 19. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in stomachs of white croaker. ......................................... 42


Figure 20. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in stomachs of white croaker. ........................................... 43


Figure 21. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in stomachs of white croaker. ........................................ 44


Figure 22. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of hornyhead turbot. .......................................................... 45


Figure 23. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of hornyhead turbot. ............................................ 46


Figure 24. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of hornyhead turbot. ......................................... 47


Figure 25. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in stomachs of hornyhead turbot. ................................... 48


Figure 26. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in stomachs of hornyhead turbot. ...................................... 49

x 

Figure 27. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in stomachs of hornyhead turbot. .................................. 50


Figure 28. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of starry flounder. .............................................................. 52


Figure 29. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of starry flounder. ................................................ 53


Figure 30. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of starry flounder. ............................................. 54


Figure 31. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in stomachs of starry flounder. ........................................ 55


Figure 32. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in stomachs of starry flounder. .......................................... 56


Figure 33. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in stomachs of starry flounder. ....................................... 57


Figure 34. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of English sole. .................................................................. 58


Figure 35. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of English sole. .................................................... 60


Figure 36. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of English sole. ................................................. 61


Figure 37. Total PAHs, LAHs, and HAHs in stomachs of English sole. ............................................ 62


Figure 38. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in stomachs of English sole. .............................................. 63


Figure 39. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in stomachs of English sole. ........................................... 64


Figure 40. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of flathead sole. ................................................................. 66


Figure 41. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of flathead sole. ................................................... 67


Figure 42. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of flathead sole. ................................................ 68


Figure 43. FACs-H and FACs-L in bile of fourhorn sculpin. ........................................................... 69


Figure 44. PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in livers of fourhorn sculpin. .............................................. 70


Figure 45. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene in livers of fourhorn sculpin. .......................................... 71


Figure 46. Frequency of occurrence (% by weight) for food types found in stomach contents of eight


bottom-feeding fish species collected along the West Coast of North America during the years 

1984-88, based on 2 to 33 samples per species. ..................................................................... 73


Figure 47. Frequency of occurrence (% by weight) for two major prey categories relating to food-


chain transfer of contaminants found in stomach contents of eight species of bottom-feeding fish 

during the years 1984-88. ....................................................................................................... 74


Figure 48. Summary analysis illustrating example of a species exhibiting high intercorrelations among


types of environmental compartments for HAHs (English sole) and one showing low 

intercorrelations for the same class of contaminants (hornyhead turbot). .................................... 85


Figure 49. Summary analysis showing intercorrelations among Spearman rank correlation coefficients


for chemical concentrations in sediment, bile, and stomach contents for (a) LAHs, (b) HAHs, and 

(c) PAHs. ............................................................................................................................... 87

xi 

Figure 50. Summary analysis showing intercorrelations among Spearman rank correlation coefficients 

for chemical concentrations in sediment, liver, and stomach contents for (a) PCBs and (b) 

hexachlorobenzene. ................................................................................................................ 88 

Figure 51. Summary analysis showing intercorrelations among Spearman rank correlation coefficients 

for chemical concentrations in sediment, liver, and stomach contents for (a) DDTs, (b) dieldrin, and 

(c) chlordanes. ........................................................................................................................ 89

xii

xiii 

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1. Organic compounds determined during NBSP Cycles I-VII (1984-90). .............................. 3


Table 2. Total numbers of chemical analyses of sediment, fish stomach contents, fish liver, and fish bile


samples performed during NBSP Cycles I-VII (1984-90; 3213 analyses total). ......................... 4


Table 3A. California sites sampled 1984-90 for the National Benthic Surveillance Project (NBSP). . 12


Table 3B. Sites in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska sampled 1984-90 for the National Benthic Surveil­


lance Project (NBSP). ............................................................................................................ 13


Table 4. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 5. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 6. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 7. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 8. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 9. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach contents,


Table 10. Spearman rank correlations among concentrations of chemicals in sediment, stomach con-


and liver or bile. ...................................................................................................................... 76


and liver or bile of barred sand bass. ....................................................................................... 77


and liver or bile of white croaker. ............................................................................................ 78


and liver or bile of hornyhead turbot. ....................................................................................... 80


and liver or bile of starry flounder. ........................................................................................... 81


and liver or bile of English sole. ............................................................................................... 82


tents, and liver or bile of flathead sole. ..................................................................................... 83


Table 11. Summary of trend analyses: meta-analysis results for organic contaminants by site for the 12


long-term sites during the period 1984-90. .............................................................................. 91

xiv

xv 

PREFACE 

The National Benthic Surveillance Project (NBSP) was initiated in 1984 by NOAA as a component of the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, which is designed to document the 

status of and to assess long-term changes in the environmental quality of the Nation’s coastal and 

estuarine waters. The NBSP is a cooperative effort between the National Marine Fisheries 

Service and NOAA’s National Ocean Services (NOS). The specific objectives of the NBSP 

were: 

♦ Measurement of concentrations of chemical contaminants in sediment and in species of 

bottom-dwelling fish at selected sites in urban and nonurban embayments. 

♦ Determination of the prevalences of diseases in these same fish species. 

♦ Evaluation of temporal trends in these parameters. 

This technical memorandum summarizes the results of the organic chemical contaminant analyses for the first seven years of the West Coast portion of NBSP. Although it is an overview of 

findings as well as a detailed presentation and treatment of these data, it is not meant to comprehensively review the related marine pollution literature. However, pertinent references are 

included in discussions of the most significant aspects. 
xvi

1

INTRODUCTION


The National Benthic Surveillance Project (NBSP) compiled information on levels of chemical 

contaminants in the surface (top 2 cm) of bottom sediment in selected coastal and estuarine areas of the 

U.S., and on the levels of these contaminants (or their derivatives) in selected species of bottomfish 

(Brown et al. 1998, Varanasi et al. 1989b). The measurement of tissue concentrations of contaminants 

in marine fish bridges the gap between those contaminants that are associated with sediment, and those 

found in fish. Moreover, because fish are mobile, concentrations of contaminants in their tissues give an 

indication of contamination over a wider area than measuring contaminants in sediment alone. Because 

the intent of NBSP was to provide broad geographical coverage, the number of sites that could be 

sampled in an individual bay or estuary was necessarily limited. The urban sampling sites were 

specifically located in areas that integrate waste inputs from a number of sources, and were not directly 

adjacent to any known point sources of contaminants or established dredge disposal areas. Thus, the 

data from an individual sampling site are not intended to fully describe the environmental status of an 

entire embayment, but they do provide information on the status of representative sites. 

The use of uniform sampling protocols and rigorous analytical techniques in the NBSP permitted the 

assembly of an extensive and robust database that documented levels of contaminants in sediments and 

in selected marine bottom-feeding fish on a nationwide basis. The establishment of such a Nationwide 

database is a fundamental requirement in documenting present conditions (status) and in establishing a 

scientifically meaningful baseline from which future changes in environmental quality (trends) can be 

measured. 

This technical memorandum presents the results of the first seven years (1984-1990) of the West Coast 

component of the NBSP. Although a large body of data is available regarding contaminants in 

freshwater habitats of the U.S. [for example through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 

online computer database system, Staples et al. 1985], little information of this nature has been collected 

for marine and estuarine habitats (Zarba 1989). Therefore, these data serve to assess the contamination 

at a given site within a bay, which can indicate whether an embayment should be investigated more 

extensively in the future, either by the NBSP or by other suitable projects. 

Project Rationale 

Sediments are a known repository for a large number of organic contaminants, particularly those that 

are relatively insoluble in marine or estuarine water (Means et al. 1980, O’Connor and Huggett 1988). 

Fish have been shown to accumulate a variety of organic contaminants from sediments (Eadie et al. 

1982, Gossett et al. 1983, Varanasi et al. 1985). Hence, it is important to analyze samples of sediments 

for organic contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated 

hydrocarbons (CHs) and coprostanol (COP). Total organic carbon and particle grain size was also 

determined in sediment samples. Selected organic contaminants, known to be or suspected of being 

toxic to marine organisms, are listed in Table 1 and are discussed in the next section. The urban 

sampling sites were specifically located in areas that integrated waste inputs from a number of sources, 
2


and were not directly adjacent to any known point sources of contaminants or established dredge 

disposal areas. 

Eight species of bottom-feeding fish listed in Table 2 were collected, with each species being captured 

at one or more reference sites. Fish were analyzed for the organic contaminants (or metabolites thereof) 

listed in Table 1, which are discussed in the next section. Stomach contents were analyzed for the same 

analytes as sediment. Liver tissues were also analyzed for the same CHs as were sediments with the 

exception of PAHs. Liver tissues were not analyzed for PAHs due to the extensive biotransformation of 

these compounds to more polar metabolic products, most of which are readily excreted into the bile 

(Varanasi et al. 1989a). Therefore, exposure of fish to PAHs was determined by measuring fluorescent 

aromatic compounds (FACs) in bile using high-pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence 

detection (Krahn et al. 1984, 1986a). Concentrations of biliary FACs are reported as benzo[a]pyrene 

(FACs-H) or naphthalene (FACs-L) equivalents on a wet weight basis. 

The same species of fish was used when evaluating and comparing exposures to contaminants at 

different locations, to avoid the confounding issue of species-specific differences. Interspecies 

differences in the uptake and fate of toxic chemicals by fish have been reported (Varanasi et al. 1986, 

1987, 1989a) and could pose difficulties in extending interpretations of specific results to general 

situations. 

Chemical analysis of stomach contents from the target bottom-feeding fish species was an additional 

means of assessing contaminant exposure. Although the manner and degree to which bottomfish are 

exposed to the various classes of sediment-associated contaminants are not well understood, it is 

generally held that diet can be an important route. Measurement of concentrations of contaminants in 

the fish tissues and in the benthic organisms comprising their diet can provide both a short term (diet) 

and a longer term (tissues) indication of exposure to contaminants. Due to the unevenness in distribution 

of sediment-associated contaminants in a given area, the contaminant levels found in benthic food 

species (fish or invertebrate) tend to be more representative of the overall degree of contamination for a 

given area than are the levels determined from a small number of sediment samples. The importance of 

determining the taxonomic distribution of stomach contents is discussed below in the section dealing with 

metabolites of PAHs. 

Thus, a minimum of three environmental compartments were sampled at each site (sediment, stomach 

contents and liver/bile of at least one target species of bottom-dwelling fish). Liver and bile of a fish will 

be considered as a single environmental compartment because FACs in bile indicate exposure to PAHs, 

and CHs in liver reflect exposure to CHs. 

Rationale for Selection of Organic Contaminants 

The findings presented here are organized around the major classes of organic contaminants listed in 

Table 1, most of which are or are closely related to “Priority Pollutants” (Sittig 1980). Selection of 

these chemicals was based in part on recommendations of NOAA experts over the years (Lauenstein et 

al. 1993), and on the periodic revalidations of NOAA’s environmental specialists, including those of the 
3 
4 
5


Environmental Conservation Division. Also included is a natural steroid, coprostanol (COP), which is a 

sewage tracer because of its origin in human intestines. The principal classes of the organic 

contaminants listed in Table 1 are further described below. 

PAHs 

The PAHs are widely distributed throughout the marine environment and commonly occur in sediments 

in urban coastal and estuarine areas. They are composed of fused benzene rings, with or without alkyl 

substituents (e.g., methyl groups). In this study the general class of PAHs is divided into two subclasses: 

♦ lower molecular weight PAHs having two to three aromatic rings (LAHs) 

♦ higher molecular weight PAHs having four to six aromatic rings (HAHs) 

LAHs 

Relative to the HAHs, the LAHs are more volatile and water-soluble, and moreover, tend to be more 

readily taken up and metabolized by fish, and the metabolites excreted. The LAHs also are generally 

known for their acute toxicity. Sources of LAHs include all fossil fuels and discharges of incomplete 

combustion of them, as well as crude oil (Clark and Brown 1977). 

HAHs 

In contrast to the LAHs, the HAHs are less water soluble and generally more tightly sorbed to 

sediment. HAHs are present in crude oil, fossil fuels and in combustion residue (e.g., soot) from all 

incomplete combustion processes, including natural processes such as forest fires. Because of efficient 

metabolic transformations, the LAHs and HAHs are generally not bioaccumulated per se to any great 

extent in fish (Meador et al. 1995). The HAHs are also known more for their chronic toxicity than 

acute toxicity. One of the more thoroughly studied HAHs, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), has been shown to 

be carcinogenic in mammals and fish (Osborne and Crosby 1987, Hendricks et al. 1985). 

Metabolites of PAHs 

Fish possess a significant capability, primarily in the liver, to readily metabolize PAHs and related 

aromatic compounds to more polar products (metabolites) that are not detectable in customary PAH 

analytical procedures (Varanasi et al. 1982, 1989a). Instead, the PAH metabolites are determined by 

their fluorescence which often is increased relative to parent compound fluorescence. 

The metabolites pass into the bile for excretion. Because the target fish species possess gall bladders, 

the bile can be readily collected for analytical separation of components by high performance liquid 

chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence quantitation (Krahn, 1986a). This fluorescence is relatively 

diagnostic of the PAH metabolites, which are also termed “fluorescent aromatic compounds” (FACs). 
6


CHs 

Unlike the PAHs, levels of CHs in fish can be directly measured in tissues, because the CHs are more 

resistant to metabolic conversion than AHs (Bickel and Muehlebach 1980, Stein et al. 1984, Stein et al. 

1987). The CHs listed in Table 1 were measured in both the stomach contents and the livers of the 

target fish as well as in sediments. 

PCBs 

Among the CHs, the PCBs are persistent contaminants of estuarine sediments and biota that are very 

widespread. Commercial formulations of PCBs are mixtures of individual chlorinated biphenyls 

(congeners) varying according to the numbers of chlorines and their ring positions on the biphenyl. Prior 

to the 1975 congressional ban on PCB manufacture, various mixtures of some 209 individual PCBs 

were used extensively in electrical transformers, capacitors, paints, waxes, inks, dust control agents, 

paper and pesticides (Sittig 1981). 

The toxicity of PCBs in terrestrial and aquatic organisms has been the object of considerable research 

(e.g., Safe 1984, 1994). Adverse effects, including reduced growth, diminished reproductive potential, 

immunosuppression, and carcinogenesis, have been reported in a variety of species (Casillas et al. 

1994, Johnson et al. 1998, Gilbertson 1989, Myers et al. 1994). The U.S. EPA has recommended a 

maximum 24-hour average exposure of 0.03 μg/L PCBs in seawater as the water quality standard. 

However, few studies with marine species have focused on effects in animals exposed to sedimentassociated PCBs or to PCBs contaminating their diet. Thus, the point above which environmental 

quality is significantly compromised by sediment concentrations of PCBs is not well understood. 

DDTs 

The toxicity of waterborne DDT to diverse aquatic species has been well documented (Holden 1972). 

More recent findings indicate that DDTs are endocrine disrupters that cause reproductive impairment 

and sexual abnormalities (Colborn et al. 1993). However, little is known concerning (a) the toxicity and 

bioavailability of sediment-associated DDTs, (b) the toxic effects on fish of dietary intake of DDTs, or 

(c) the toxicological significance of the DDT degradation products, DDE and DDD, in sediments or 

tissues of aquatic or terrestrial organisms. Of note is Sittig’s (1980) finding that DDE is much less toxic 

than DDT when administered orally to mice. 

Hexachlorobenzene, Chlordanes, and Dieldrin 

Of the remaining CHs in Table 1, HCB (which is chemically unique in that it possesses a benzene ring as 

well as chlorine atoms), the chlordanes (which were grouped for statistical purposes) and dieldrin were 

selected for presentation on the basis of their use as pesticides. 
7


Changes in Analytes Determined During First Seven Years of Program 

One problem encountered in monitoring programs is the lack of standard methods which can complicate 

interpretation of the results (Edmondson 1991), especially with regard to assessment of long-term 

trends; therefore, all concentrations of chemicals used in this report are based solely on trace chemicals 

that were analyzed for all seven cycles using the same methods. The list of organic chemicals analyzed 

in bottom sediment was expanded in 1986 (Cycle III) to add two additional LAHs (acenaphthene and 

2,3,5-trimethylnaphthalene), three additional HAHs (benzo[b+k]fluoranthenes, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, 

and benzo[g,h,i]perylene), decachlorobiphenyl, and a number of individual PCB congeners. In addition, 

analysis of dichlorobiphenyls was dropped at this time. Naphthalene was not reported for stomach 

contents samples for 1988 (Cycle V) due to analytical problems. These changes in analytes determined 

as well as a few changes in analytes reported are noted in Table 1. 
8

9 

METHODS 

Field Sampling Protocols 

Samples of sediment and target fish tissues (livers, bile, and stomach contents) were collected along the 

Pacific Coast during the first seven years of the NBSP at the 50 sites shown in Figures 1 and 2 and 

listed in Table 3 (all sites were not sampled each year). Thirty-seven of these sites were located in or 

near urbanized embayments. The remaining 13 sites were located in nonurban areas, four of which 

were used as reference or comparison sites (shown in italics in Table 3). Alaska had 13 sites; 

Washington, 3 sites; Oregon, 3 sites; and there were 31 sites in California. The names of the West 

Coast NBSP sampling sites and the target fish are also listed in Table 3. Included in this table are site 

codes which are used throughout the text, tables, figures and appendices. 

Sediments were collected at three stations per site, and three sediment grabs taken at each sampling 

station were composited for analysis. Up to 60 bottom-feeding fish per species were obtained by otter 

trawl at each site. Fish were collected in the spring and summer months using an otter trawl; individual 

tows lasted ca. 5 min and covered about 0.2 nautical miles (300 m). Fish were selected for analysis 

according to length and the tissues were excised aboard ship, and frozen at - 20°C. A portion of the 

stomach contents samples were composited according to species, cruise, and site, and preserved in 

10% buffered formalin for taxonomy. 

Analytical Procedures 

Sediments were analyzed for selected polycyclic PAHs and CHs according to Krahn et al. (1988) and 

Sloan et al. (1993). Coprostanol was determined in sediment by the method of Krahn et al. (1989). 

All analyte concentrations for sediment and tissue samples are reported on a dry weight basis. The 

PAHs are reported as either LAHs or as HAHs (Table 1). Chlorinated hydrocarbons are divided into 

three groups of compounds: PCBs; 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane and its metabolites 

(DDTs); and chlordanes (a-chlordane and trans-nonachlor). 

Total organic carbon in sediments was determined instrumentally with a carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen 

analyzer on samples treated by the procedure of Hedges and Stern (1984). Particle size determination 

on sediment samples differentiated the clay-silt component of the sediment (i.e., particles <63 micron in 

diameter) from the larger particles. Sediments were separated into the two fractions using standard wet 

seiving techniques derived from EPA methods (Plumb 1981). Total organic carbon and particle size 

analyses were done at the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center laboratory. 

Liver tissues were analyzed for the same CHs as were sediments, but not for PAHs because PAHs are 

extensively biotransformed to more polar metabolic products in the liver. Therefore, exposure of fish to 

PAHs was estimated by measuring FACs in bile using high-pressure liquid chromatography with 

fluorescence detection (Krahn et al. 1984, 1986a). Concentrations of biliary FACs are reported as 
10


Figure 1. Map of the Pacific Coast of the contiguous United States showing the locations of sampling 

sites. 
11


Figure 2. Map of Alaska showing locations of sampling sites. 
12 
13 
14


benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (FACs-H), representing the HAHs; or naphthalene equivalents (FACs-L), 

representing LAHs as ng of FACs per g of bile. The excitation/emission wavelengths used were 290/ 

335 nm (appropriate for naphthalene and structurally similar compounds) and the other set to 380/430 

nm (appropriate for benzo[a]pyrene and structurally similar compounds). The concentrations of FACs 

in bile were determined using naphthalene and benzo[a]pyrene as external standards and converting the 

fluorescence response of bile to naphthalene or benzo[a]pyrene equivalents. Stomach contents samples 

were analyzed for the same suites of analytes as sediment samples except for COP. 

For stomach content taxonomy, various prey items were sorted and identified by phylum. Each 

category of prey was damp-dried and weighed with a precision of 0.0001 g. 

Statistical Analyses 

Because the number of observations per site were different, the relative concentrations of contaminants 

in sediment and in fish tissue were compared statistically using the GT2 multiple comparison method 

(Gabriel 1978; Sokal and Rohlf 1981). The computation and plotting of a GT2 multiple comparison 

analysis is equivalent to performing a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a multiplerange test (Kleinbaum et al. 1988). In graphical displays of GT2 comparison intervals, those that do not 

overlap are significantly different (p � 0.05). Because environmental chemical concentrations are often 

log-normally distributed (Travis and Land 1990), the comparison intervals were calculated for 

contaminant concentrations (x) transformed using ln(x+1), resulting in comparison intervals that are 

asymmetric about the arithmetic mean. 

The Spearman rank correlation method (Zar 1984), a bivariate non-parametric procedure, was used to 

examine relationships among chemical concentrations in sediments and fish. This method is preferred 

for situations in which an underlying normal distribution or linearity cannot be reasonably assumed. 

Spearman rank correlation was also used to analyze temporal trends in certain classes of contaminants 

over the period 1984-90. Only sites for which four years of data covering at least a five year span were 

selected. Temporal trends were evaluated for three environmental compartments: sediment and 

stomach contents and liver/bile of at least one target species of bottom-dwelling fish. Each tissue and 

sediment concentration was assumed to be a representative sample of the site for the year it was 

obtained and each concentration was used as an individual value in the trends analyses rather than using 

a mean value (per analyte per substrate) for the year (Gilbert 1987). 

Meta-analysis techniques (Mullen and Rosenthal 1985 and Mullen 1989) were used to test for 

consistent trends in levels of contaminants in sediment and fish at each site. These techniques have been 

applied extensively to studies in the social sciences and medicine to test for consistency in experimental 

results across independent studies of relationships between risk factors and measurable effects. Meta 

analysis thereby integrates comparable studies into cumulative indications of association. The temporal 

trends computed in this study do not conform in the strictest sense to meta-analysis assumptions of 

independence as they are not derived from separate studies. However, it was assumed that the 

compartments analyzed were distinct enough to allow for synthesis into a single test of trend for each 

contaminant analyzed at a site. The significance levels for the Spearman rank correlations for pertinent 
15 

compartments (sediment, stomach contents and bile concentrations for PAHs and sediment, stomach 

contents and liver concentrations for all others contaminants) were transformed to Z-values, combined 

and then transformed back to a single p-value per Mullen and Rosenthal (1985) and Mullen (1989). 

The resultant significance level gives an indication of the consistency across compartments and statistical 

certainty with which a prevailing trend in concentration exists for a particular contaminant at a site. 
16

17 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

This report is based on 3213 chemical analyses of sediment, fish stomach contents, fish liver, and fish 

bile samples performed during NBSP west coast Cycles I-VII (1984-1990, Table 2). Mean 

concentrations of organic contaminants in sediment from each of the sampling sites is available for a one 

to seven year period, and these mean values will be compared over a coast-wide basis. However, due 

to potential species-specific differences among the target fish species, comparisons of mean 

concentrations of organic contaminants (or their derivatives) will be made only within the same species. 

Particle Size Characteristics and Percent Total Organic Carbon 

The percent silt-clay in sediment (i.e., the fraction of a sediment sample that contains the particles < 63 

μm in diameter) for the West Coast NBSP sites ranged from 4.3% for Nisqually Reach in south Puget 

Sound to 99.0% for Port Valdez, Alaska (Fig 3; particle size and organic carbon were not determined 

for all samples). Within the NOAA Status and Trends Program, sediment samples with silt-clay values 

� 20% are considered to be sandy and contaminant data from sandy sediments are not generally used 

because of complications encountered when normalizing contaminant data to percent silt-clay (NOAA 

1988). Sediments from 37 of the 42 sites had percentage silt-clay values � 20% and among these sites 

the percentage silt-clay values were generally not significantly different. The sites with values more than 

40% silt-clay were primarily located in protected embayments sheltered from the open ocean. 

Nonurban sites had values ranging from 5% (Nisqually Reach in Puget Sound, Washington) to 40% 

(Dana Point, California). Sites with sediments having low percentage silt-clay values were usually 

located in open coastal bays, such as Bodega Bay or Monterey Bay, California or they were in areas of 

high riverine flows, such as Nisqually Reach (Washington) or the Columbia River estuary (Washington/ 

Oregon). 

Concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) tended to be highest in sediments from urban sites, even 

though some of the highest concentrations were detected in sediments from nonurban sites in Alaska— 

Boca de Quadra and Oliktok Point (Fig. 3). Fifteen urban sites had concentrations of TOC that were 

significantly higher than those from the reference site with the highest comparison interval (Dana Point): 

National City, south Bay, and north Bay in San Diego Bay; Long Beach and Outer Harbor in San Pedro 

Bay; Hunters Point, Oakland Estuary, Oakland, and Redwood City in San Francisco Bay; Coos Bay in 

southern Oregon; Youngs Bay in the Columbia River estuary; Elliott Bay and Commencement Bay in 

Puget Sound; and Dutch Harbor in Alaska. The high TOC values for sediments from Boca de Quadra 

and Oliktok Point were likely due to the presence of large amounts of glacial silt. 

A correlation (rs = 0.68, p � 0.0001) was found between the TOC values and the percent clay-silt of 

sediment samples. For example, six of the seven sediments with the lowest TOC values also had the 

lowest percent clay-silt values. Nevertheless, a few examples were found where TOC and clay-silt 

values for sediments were substantially different. This lack of agreement is presumably due to the 

differing geological and biological components in sediments among the sampling sites. For example, 

sediment from the Port Valdez, Alaska site was largely of glacial origin, thus it had a high percentage of 
18 
19


clay-silt and moderate TOC values; whereas sediment from the Boca de Quadra site, which had large 

amounts of forest debris, had a moderate percentage of clay-silt and high levels of TOC. 

Organic Contaminants in Sediments 

Figures 4-6 display the mean concentrations (arithmetic and geometric) and their standard deviations for 

organic contaminants in sediments from each site for years 1984-1990. Coprostanol was analyzed in 

sediments collected in years 1987-1990. The classes of organic contaminants included PAHs, PCBs, 

DDTs, chlordanes, dieldrin, HCB and coprostanol. For comparative purposes the concentrations of 

contaminants in sediments from each of the sampling sites were related to those at the Outside Dana 

Point reference site in Southern California. This site was chosen as the primary reference site for 

sediments because the mean percentage silt-clay value (42%) was more representative of urban sites 

than were the values for sediments from the other reference sites. 

The results of the sediment chemistry analyses from this study will be primarily compared with results 

produced by NOAA’s Mussel Watch Project (NOAA 1989), a component of the NS&T Program. 

Although a number of previous studies of organic contaminants in sediments from Pacific coastal areas 

have been published, these studies used analytical methods that are not strictly comparable to the 

methods used in the present study. The Mussel Watch Project collects and analyzes sediment 

associated with molluscs using analytical procedures comparable to those of NBSP, and collections 

were made over a somewhat similar time period (1986 to the present, NOAA 1989). Moreover, many 

of the Mussel Watch sites were located near NBSP sites. In addition, both projects participate in the 

same rigorous NS&T quality assurance (QA) program. Under the supervision of the National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards), the performances of NS&T 

laboratories were carefully tested through annual intercalibration exercises with certified reference 

standards. 

PAHs 

Concentrations of PAHs (Table 1) measured in sediment are presented here primarily for the purpose of 

comparing these data with other studies which measure summed PAHs. However, for the purposes of 

this report, the emphasis will be placed on presenting the concentrations of LAHs and HAHs 

LAHs and HAHs 

The concentrations of LAHs and HAHs were near or below detection limits at most nonurban sites. 

Twenty-six urban sites had concentrations of LAHs and HAHs that were significantly higher than those 

from the Dana Point reference site ( Fig 4). Twenty of these sites were in California: all five sites in San 

Diego Bay; all five sites in San Pedro Bay; three sites in Santa Monica Bay; all five sites in San 

Francisco Bay; and the two sites in San Pablo Bay. The other six sites were the Coos Bay site in OR; 

the Elliott Bay and Commencement Bay sites in Puget Sound, WA; the Endicott Field and Oliktok Point 

sites near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; and the Dutch Harbor site in Alaska. 
20 
21 
22 
23


Coprostanol 

Coprostanol analyses were conducted on samples from 30 sites sampled during cycles 4-7 (1987-90). 

Twenty-one sites had concentrations of coprostanol that were significantly higher than those from the 

Dana Point reference site: all sites in San Diego Bay; the Outer Harbor, Long Beach and Cerritos 

Channel sites in San Pedro Bay; all the sites in Santa Monica Bay; all the sites in San Francisco Bay; the 

Coos Bay site, and both Commencement Bay and Elliott Bay sites in Puget Sound (Fig 5). 

Hexachlorobenzene 

Relatively low concentrations of HCB was detected in sediment samples (mean concentrations were 

less than 10 ng/g). Mean concentrations of HCB were significantly higher in sediments from only two 

sites (Commencement Bay and Oakland Estuary) compared to Dana Point sediment (Fig 5). 

PCBs 

PCBs were found in sediments from all of the West Coast sites, including the sites in Alaska. This 

contrasts with the PAHs (which, as noted above, were either not detected at nonurban sites or were at 

very low concentrations). Twenty-four sites had concentrations of total PCBs that were significantly 

higher than those from the Dana Point reference site (Fig 5). Significantly higher concentrations were 

found in sediment from all five sites San Diego Bay; all five sites in or near San Pedro Bay; four sites in 

west and south Santa Monica Bay; all five sites in San Francisco Bay; the Castro Creek site in San 

Pablo Bay; the sites in Commencement and Elliott Bays in Puget Sound, and the Oliktok Point and 

Dutch Harbor sites in Alaska. 

DDTs 

Fifteen sites had sediment with mean concentrations of DDTs that were significantly higher than that of 

the Dana Point reference site (Fig 6). With the exception of the site in Elliott Bay, all of these sites were 

in California. Within San Diego Bay, these sites included the North and South Bay sites. Significantly 

higher concentrations were also found in sediment from all sites in San Pedro Outer Harbor, four sites in 

Santa Monica Bay, and three sites in south San Francisco Bay. Sediment from all of the reference sites 

and sites in Alaska had concentrations of DDTs at or below the limits of detection (ca. 0.1 ng/g, dry 

weight). 

Chlordanes 

Of the 10 sites that had sediment concentrations of chlordanes that were significantly higher than those 

of the Dana Point reference site, nine were in California and one was in Commencement Bay. The sites 

in California included the North and South San Diego Bay sites; the Long Beach, Cerritos Channel, and 

Seal Beach sites in San Pedro Bay; the West and South Santa Monica Bay sites, and the Oakland 

Estuary and Redwood City sites in San Francisco Bay (Fig 6). 
24


Dieldrin 

Dieldrin was detected in sediment samples from 21 sites at concentrations < 10 ng/g dry weight (Fig 6). 

The only sites with mean sediment concentrations of dieldrin significantly higher than for Dana Point 

were Oakland Estuary and Redwood City in San Francisco Bay, and Elliott Bay in Puget Sound. 

Concentrations were below limits of detection at nonurban sites and all sites in Alaska. 

Discussion of Sediment Chemistry Data 

Because differences in analytical methods and quality control procedures can interfere with comparisons 

between different studies, comparisons of these findings with other similar types of monitoring/ 

reconnaissance studies that used analytical methods similar to ours, and were included in the NOAA 

Status and Trends Quality Assurance Program. 

The concentrations of LAHs, HAHs, PCBs and DDTs in sediments collected in 1986 and 1987 from 

five Mussel Watch sites (NOAA 1991) located within 2 km of corresponding NBSP sites were very 

similar to those found in the present study. In San Diego Bay, sediment from the West Harbor Island 

NBSP site had mean concentrations of HAHs, PCBs and DDTs 720±320, 100±63, and 38±84 ng/g 

dry weight, respectively, compared to mean concentrations (n = 6) of 725±384, 96±80, and 9±8 ng/g 

dry weight, respectively for sediments from the Mussel Watch site located near Harbor Island. 

(Concentrations of contaminants for the Mussel Watch sites were reported as normalized to sediment 

particle size, therefore, for the purpose of this report, the values were converted to a dry weight basis.) 

Further north, in San Pedro Harbor, the concentrations of HAHs, PCBs and DDTs in sediment from the 

Outer Harbor NBSP site (1700±900, 260±130, and 500±210 ng/g, respectively) were similar, or 

slightly lower, than those found in sediment from a Mussel Watch site adjacent to a nearby fishing pier 

(1750±1300, 200±60, and 750±830 ng/g, respectively, n = 6). The concentrations of HAHs, PCBs 

and DDTs in sediments from two NBSP sites in San Francisco Bay—near Redwood City (1800±300, 

100±28 and 11±4 ng/g, respectively) and Oakland (1400±320, 61±12, and 5±2 ng/g) were 

approximately the same as those for Mussel Watch sites located adjacent to the Dumbarton bridge 

(2000±540, 70±34, and 14±6, n = 6) and Emeryville (1600±910, 74±38, and 28±11 ng/g, n = 6), 

respectively. In Puget Sound, only one set of sites were close enough to justify a comparison of 

concentrations of HAHs, PCBs and DDTs: the Commencement Bay NBSP site (680±370, 70±67, and 

3±4 ng/g, respectively) and the Mussel Watch site at Browns Point (860±360, 46±11, and 3±2 ng/g, n 

= 6). Again these concentrations were very similar. Overall, these results demonstrate that studies 

conducted in the same geographical area, using closely similar techniques, can indeed furnish highly 

synoptic results. 

Sediment concentrations of DDTs reported by Brown et al. (1986) and by our laboratory (Malins et al. 

1987) near our present Southeast Santa Monica Bay site were 100 ng/g and 120 ng/g, respectively. 

These values compare well with the 150±26 ng/g of this study, attesting to the relatively steady state of 

DDTs in Santa Monica Bay sediments. 
25 

Organic Contaminants in Fish 

Because no single species of fish inhabits all of the West Coast sampling sites, nine bottom-feeding 

species were needed to characterize the exposure of marine fish to contaminants along the entire coast 

(Table 2). The results of chemical analyses of tissues for each fish species will be presented on a 

regional basis, and will include data for both urban and nonurban sites. The mean concentrations of 

FACs in bile, CHs in liver and CHs and PAHs in stomach contents are presented for each species, 

beginning with the species collected in the southernmost sites and proceeding in a northern direction. 

The results of analyses of chemical contaminants in the stomach contents (i.e., food organisms) of fish 

will be presented to provide information on the types and concentrations of chemicals these fish are 

exposed to through their diet; they will also provide one of several measures of exposures to 

environmental contaminants that facilitate better interpretation of the overall findings. Although little 

scientific information is available on the relative proportions of chemical contaminants in stomach 

contents that can be absorbed and transported to tissues of the host fish, most of the chemicals 

measured in this study readily pass through gastrointestinal membranes (Gobas et al. 1988). However, 

a difficulty in interpreting chemical analyses for stomach contents is the fact that many of the target 

species are opportunistic feeders. Thus, the taxonomic composition of food organisms for a certain 

species will vary from site to site. Because some prey organisms, such as crustaceans, may be more 

effective than others (e.g., molluscs) at biotransformation of organic compounds (Varanasi et al. 1985), 

it is important that the differences in the taxonomic composition of food organisms for the same species 

at different sites also be determined. For example, if the host fish are from an area high in PAH 

contamination, this may not be reflected in the stomach contents if the latter consist mostly of 

crustaceans. 

Barred Sand Bass 

Specimens were taken from barred sand bass collected from three sites in San Diego Bay, one site 

outside of Mission Bay, and two sites from Dana Point. These latter two sites included one in the 

harbor and a site on the outer portion of the point which is a reference site. Samples of bile were taken 

from fish collected from all six sites, whereas bile, liver and stomach content samples were collected 

from two sites each in San Diego Bay and Dana Point. 

The mean concentrations of FACs-H and FACs-L in the bile of barred sand bass from the National 

City site, the south San Diego Bay site, and the north San Diego Bay site were all significantly higher 

than that for bass from the Dana Point reference site (Fig 7). Although mean concentration of FACs-L 

in bass from the outside Mission Bay site were similar to those in bass from Dana Point reference site, 

however, concentrations of FACs-H from these Mission Bay bass were similar to those from San Diego 

Bay sites. 

Mean concentrations of PCBs (Fig 8) and dieldrin (Fig 9) in the livers of barred sand bass from south 

San Diego Bay and National City were significantly higher than those for the Dana Point sites. 

However, the reverse was true for DDTs (Fig 8). Mean concentrations of DDTs in barred sand bass 

livers were approximately the same at both sites in San Diego Bay, but were significantly lower than 
26


those for bass from the Dana Point sites. For HCB, the mean concentration in bass from the south San 

Diego Bay site was significantly lower than that for Dana Point bass, and the mean value for bass from 

the National City site was not significantly different from either of the other sites. All of these HCB 

values were quite low (� 10 ng/g), however. For chlordanes, only bass from the south San Diego Bay 

site had significantly higher liver concentrations compared to bass from the Dana Point sites (Fig 8). 

Mean concentrations of LAHs in the stomach contents of barred sand bass from the two sites in San 

Diego Bay were not significantly different from those found in bass from Dana Point (Fig 10). However, 

the mean concentration of HAHs in bass from south San Diego Bay was significantly higher than for 

bass from Dana Point. Similarly, the mean concentration of PCBs in the stomach contents of barred 

sand bass from the south San Diego Bay site was significantly higher than that in bass from Dana Point, 

but the mean concentration in bass stomachs from the National City site was not significantly different 

from either of the other two sites (Fig 11). Conversely, no significant differences were found among the 

levels of DDTs, chlordanes, dieldrin, or HCB in stomach contents of bass from any of the three sites 

(Figs 11 and 12)—the mean concentrations of dieldrin and HCB were � 10 ng/g. 

Barred sand bass from Dana Point appear to have been exposed to higher levels of DDTs than would 

be expected for such a nonurban area with low concentrations of DDTs in sediments. However, the 

proximity of Dana Point to San Pedro Bay, where sediment levels of DDTs were among the highest 

measured (Fig 6, also Bascom 1982), may account for these unexpected levels in the stomach contents 

(Fig 11). For example, food organisms and/or fish containing DDTs may move from the San Pedro Bay 

area to Dana Point. Chemical and taxonomic analyses of the stomach contents from barred sand bass 

support this explanation (McCain et al. 1992). The stomach contents of barred sand bass from the 

Dana Point site had a mean concentration of DDTs at least twice that of sand bass from the San Diego 

Bay sites. The food organisms found in these stomach content samples from sand bass from the Dana 

Point site consisted of approximately equal proportions of fish (44%) and arthropods (52%). Both 

groups include several readily mobile species. Thus, it can be speculated that the elevated levels of 

DDTs in the livers of barred sand bass from the Dana Point site were due in part to consumption of 

some food organisms that were exposed to DDTs in areas away from this site (e.g., the vicinity of San 

Pedro Bay). 

Although comparisons of chemical contaminants in fish in this report have focused on inter-site 

differences, it is also of interest to note the differences in bioaccumulation of contaminants by fish 

species captured during different seasons of the year. Most of the chemistry data in this report are from 

analyses of samples collected during June and July. However, in 1987, barred sand bass were collected 

from the South San Diego Bay site during February as well. No significant seasonal differences were 

found in the concentrations of PCBs and DDTs in liver and FACs in bile from barred sand bass 

(McCain et al. 1992). 

Black Croaker 

Mean concentrations of FACs-H in the bile of black croaker from the Shelter Island site and the North 

and South San Diego Bay sites were significantly higher than those for black croaker from the outside 

Mission Bay reference site (Fig 13). For FACs-L, a significant difference was also found in mean 

concentrations in croaker bile from the North and South San Diego sites compared to black croaker 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34


from the outside Mission Bay site. The relatively high concentration of FACs-L in black croaker from 

the reference area may have been due to surface runoff entering Mission Bay (McCain et al. 1992). 

Mean concentrations of PCBs, chlordanes, and dieldrin in black croaker livers from the San Diego Bay 

sites were comparable, and were significantly higher than those from the outside Mission Bay site (Figs. 

14 and 15). Concentrations of DDTs were also significantly higher in black croaker from the North and 

South Bay sites, but not from the Shelter Island site, whereas concentrations of HCB were near or 

below the limits of detection at all sites. 

Because black croaker from the North San Diego Bay site did not have sufficient stomach contents for 

chemical analysis and only one composite from the outside Mission Bay site was analyzed, statistical 

tests were not performed, and the data are not presented. Nevertheless, the data for the outside 

Mission Bay site provided useful information. Mean concentrations of PAHs were 300 ± 120 ng/g in 

the stomach contents of black croaker from the Shelter Island site, whereas no PAHs were detected in 

the stomach contents of black croaker from the outside Mission Bay reference site. These findings at 

the outside Mission Bay site are in contrast to the moderate concentrations of FACs-L measured in the 

bile of croaker from this site, suggesting that diet may not have been an important route of uptake of 

LAHs. Uptake through the water column may have been a more important mode of exposure. 

Concentrations of PCBs in the stomach contents of black croaker from the Shelter Island site were 990 

± 380 ng/g, about twice that found from the outside Mission Bay reference site (410 ng/g), with a 

similar ratio for the DDTs at the two sites (99 ± 71 ng/g for Shelter Is vs. 54 ng/g for outside Mission 

Bay). Chlordanes were <15 ng/g, dieldrin was < 5 ng/g, and HCB was < 4 ng/g in the stomach 

contents of black croaker from all sites. 

White Croaker 

At all sites, except the north and south San Diego Bay sites, white croaker were collected during the 

summer; however, at these two San Diego Bay sites during 1987 and 1988, this species was also 

collected during the winter. Unless stated otherwise, the following results are for the summer sampling 

only. 

Mean concentrations of FACs-H in the bile of white croaker were highest at the Cerritos Channel site in 

San Pedro Bay, the north San Diego Bay site, and the Oakland Estuary site in San Francisco Bay (Fig 

16). Values of FACs-H from the other urban sites were also significantly higher than those for the Dana 

Point reference site, with the exception of the near Oakland and Redwood City sites in San Francisco 

Bay, San Luis Obispo site, and the west Santa Monica Bay site. A similar pattern of concentrations 

was observed for FACs-L in the bile of white croaker, except the two sites in San Pablo Bay also had 

concentrations not significantly different from the reference site. 

As was mentioned above, samples of white croaker were also collected at the North San Diego Bay 

site, during the winter (February) of 1987 and 1988. A significant seasonal difference was found 

between the mean concentration of FACs-L in the bile of white croaker collected from this site in the 

summer (96.0 ± 43.0 μg/g, wet weight, n = 15) and in the winter (220.0 ± 25.0 μg/g, wet weight, n = 

5). The importance of the season of capture as a determining factor of the levels of FACs in white 
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croaker was also supported by previous studies. Malins et al. (1987) reported bile levels of FACs-H 

for white croaker (3,700 ± 3,100 ng/g, n = 7) collected in the winter from a site in the Long Beach/Los 

Angeles vicinity were substantially higher than those found in the present study (97 ± 98 ng/g, n = 42). 

These two sites were within 1.3 km of each other. Two factors may have influenced these seasonal 

differences. First, previous studies of English sole in Puget Sound suggest that as they approach their 

spawning season the levels of bile metabolites can increase. This may be due, in part, to a reduction in 

feeding activity and the consequent retention of bile in the gall bladder (Collier and Varanasi 1991, 

Collier et al. 1992). In white croaker, the peak of the spawning season is in January and February 

(Love et al. 1984), so that the higher bile levels of FACs for croaker collected in the winter (Malins et 

al. 1987) may reflect such a seasonal effect. Second, southern California receives more rainfall in winter 

compared to summer, and urban runoff is known to result in high levels of PAHs entering the marine 

environment (Hoffman et al. 1984). This runoff may have resulted in higher levels of FACs in bile. 

Mean concentrations of PCBs in the liver of white croaker from most urban-associated sites were 

significantly higher than those for white croaker from the nonurban sites at Dana Point and in Bodega 

Bay (Fig 17); the exception was the Southampton Shoals site in San Francisco Bay. However, only the 

mean concentrations of DDTs in the livers of white croaker from all four sites in San Pedro Bay, and 

east and southeast Santa Monica Bay sites were significantly higher than for the Dana Point reference 

site (Fig 17). The mean concentrations of chlordanes were also significantly higher in croaker from 

three sites in San Pedro Bay (Long Beach, Cerritos Channel and Seal Beach) as well as the north San 

Diego Bay site (Fig 17) than in white croaker from the reference site. Levels of HCB in white croaker 

livers were all � 8 ng/g (Fig 18). 

Of interest was the finding that the mean concentration of DDTs in liver of white croaker from the Dana 

Point site was significantly higher than those in fish from the Redwood City site in San Francisco Bay 

and the Bodega Bay site. As mentioned above, barred sand bass and white croaker from Dana Point 

appear to have been exposed to higher levels of DDTs than would be expected for such a nonurban 

area with low concentrations of DDTs in sediments. Because white croaker tend to form schools and 

are relatively mobile, it is likely that the elevated levels of DDTs in white croaker from the Dana Point 

were at least partially the result of previous exposures of these individuals to DDTs in other areas prior 

to migration to Dana Point. 

The mean concentrations of dieldrin in the livers of white croaker were significantly higher at five of six 

sites in San Francisco Bay (Southampton Shoal being the exception), the North Bay and Harbor Island 

sites in San Diego Bay, and the Long Beach site in San Pedro Bay compared to white croaker from the 

Bodega Bay and Dana Point sites (Fig 18). Moreover, the concentrations in white croaker from the 

San Francisco Bay and Long Beach sites were significantly higher than those for many other urban sites, 

including sites in San Pedro Bay and Santa Monica Bay. 

A significant, but minor, seasonal difference was found between the mean concentration of PCBs in 

livers of white croaker collected from the North San Diego Bay site during the summer (6.7 ± 0.2 μg/g, 

dry weight, n = 3) compared to that found in croaker collected during the winter (4.4 ± 0.9 μg/g, dry 

weight, n = 3). High levels of CHs in the livers of white croaker from San Pedro Bay were reported 

previously. For example, Malins et al. (1987) reported PCB concentrations of 13,000 and 5,300 ng/g, 

respectively, in two composites of five livers of fish from sites near the Long Beach and San Pedro 
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Outer Harbor sites, compared to 12,000 ± 4,200 ng/g (n = 11) and 4,700 ± 2,200 ng/g (n = 12), 

respectively, in the present study. At the Outer Harbor site, the levels of DDTs in white croaker livers 

found in the two studies were somewhat similar: 22,000 ng/g (Malins et al. 1987) vs. 15,000 ± 12,000 

ng/g found in the present study. However, at the sites near Long Beach, the previous study reported 

levels of DDTs (41,000 ng/g) which were over three times higher than those we report here (13,000 ± 

5,200 ng/g). The significance of this difference is not presently known. 

Concentrations of HAHs in stomach contents of croaker from most urban sites were significantly higher 

than for Dana Point; the exceptions were the Seal Beach and Redwood City sites (Fig 19). For PCBs, 

concentrations were also significantly higher in the stomach contents of croaker from most of the urban 

sites, with the exception of two sites in San Francisco Bay (Hunters Point and Redwood City) and the 

Seal Beach site in San Pedro Bay compared to those in croaker from the two reference sites, Bodega 

Bay and Dana Point (Fig 20). On the other hand, concentrations of DDTs in the stomach contents of 

croaker were significantly higher at only three sites in San Pedro Bay—Outer Harbor, Long Beach, and 

Cerritos Channel (Fig 20). Only the Oakland Estuary site had croaker with stomach contents having 

significantly higher concentrations of dieldrin compared to those in croaker from the two reference sites, 

although all concentrations were low (e.g., � 10 ng/g). With two exceptions, no significant differences 

were found among the mean concentrations of LAHs, chlordanes and HCB in the stomach contents of 

white croaker from any of the West Coast sites (Fig 19 -21); the exceptions were the concentrations of 

LAHs in croaker from the Oakland Estuary site which was higher than the Dana Point site and the mean 

concentrations of chlordanes in the stomach contents of white croaker from Bodega Bay were lower 

than those from Dana Point. The concentrations of HCB in these stomach contents samples were quite 

low (<10 ng/g) and thus more difficult to detect significant differences. 

Hornyhead Turbot 

Concentrations of FACs-H, FACs-L, DDTs and PCBs in hornyhead turbot were significantly higher for 

all of the urban-associated sites, with the exception of the San Diego Bay Outer Harbor site, compared 

to levels in turbot from the Dana Point nonurban site (Figs. 22 and 23). The mean concentrations of 

FACs-H and DDTs in turbot from the San Diego Bay Outer Harbor site were not significantly different 

from those for Dana Point turbot. For chlordanes, only mean concentrations in the livers of hornyhead 

turbot from four of the Santa Monica Bay sites were significantly higher than those from the Dana Point 

site (Fig 23). Concentrations of dieldrin in turbot livers were significantly higher only at the San Pedro 

Canyon site, whereas no significant differences in mean concentrations (�10 ng/g) of HCB in turbot liver 

were found among any of the sites (Fig 24). 

Stomach contents of turbot from the west, southeast and south Santa Monica Bay sites had 

concentrations of PCBs and DDTs which were significantly higher than those from Dana Point (Fig 26). 

However, no significant differences were found in the concentrations of PAHs, HAHs, LAHs, 

chlordanes, dieldrin or HCB in the stomach contents of hornyhead turbot among fish from any of the 

sites (Fig 25 - 27). 
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Starry Flounder 

In general, most of the sites in San Francisco Bay and Coos Bay had starry flounder with relatively high 

concentrations of both FACs-H and FACs-L. Of the 15 sampling sites for which mean concentrations 

of FACs-H in the bile of starry flounder were determined, only three sites had values that were not 

significantly different from Bodega Bay (the reference site for starry flounder); these sites were the 

Youngs Bay site near the mouth of the Columbia River, the site in the Chukchi Sea, and the site in the 

inner portions of Castro Creek near San Pablo Bay (Fig 28). Similarly, only three of the fifteen sites 

had mean concentrations of FACs-L that were not significantly different from that for the Bodega Bay 

site (Chukchi Sea, Kvichak Bay in the Bering Sea and Norton Sound, Fig 28). 

Overall, mean concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, chlordanes and dieldrin in the livers of starry flounder 

were significantly higher at sites in San Francisco Bay compared to sites in Oregon and Alaska (Figs. 29 

and 30). The mean concentrations of PCBs and dieldrin in the livers of starry flounder from the sites in 

San Francisco Bay were also significantly higher than for flounder from the nearby reference site in 

Bodega Bay. In contrast, among the sampling sites in San Francisco Bay, only the mean concentration 

of DDTs in the liver of starry flounder from the Southampton Shoals site was significantly different from 

that for Bodega Bay. The mean concentration of chlordanes in flounder from the Hunters Point and San 

Pablo Bay sites were also significantly higher than for the Bodega Bay site. Mean concentrations of 

HCB in flounder livers were � 10 ng/g at all sites. 

Almost no statistically significant differences among the sampling sites were found for mean 

concentrations of PAHs, PCBs, chlordanes, dieldrin, or HCB in stomach contents of starry flounder 

(Figs. 31-33). The few exceptions included the mean concentrations of DDTs in the stomach contents 

of flounder from the Southampton Shoal and Castro Creek sites that were significantly higher than those 

for flounder from Coos Bay site (Fig 32), and the mean concentrations of HAHs in flounder from the 

Hunters Point and Southampton Shoals sites in San Francisco Bay were significantly higher than for the 

Bodega Bay site (Fig 31). Concentrations of chlordanes, dieldrin, or HCB were all � 10 ng/g. 

English sole 

English sole had the widest geographical distribution of any of the target fish species. They were most 

abundant at sites in Puget Sound and Monterey Bay, but were collected as far north as Dutch Harbor, 

Alaska, and as far south as outside of San Diego Bay. However, English sole was not the primary 

target fish species in Alaska and certain sites in Southern California, so for sole from these sites, only 

analyses for FACs in bile were performed because the analyses are relatively inexpensive. The results 

of analyses for FACs-H demonstrated that concentrations in sole from sites in the contiguous U.S. were 

generally significantly higher than those at the Bodega Bay reference site, whereas the concentrations in 

sole from the Alaska sites were not significantly different from the Bodega Bay sole (Fig 34). The 

exceptions were the low concentrations at the site near Monterey, CA, and at the Nisqually Reach 

reference site in Puget Sound. A similar pattern of bile concentrations was observed for mean 

concentrations of FACs-L in English sole, with some pronounced exceptions: (1) the mean 

concentration of FACs-L at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, site was among the highest measured in the 

program, and (2) mean concentrations at the Monterey Bay sites and the Boca de Quadra site were 
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significantly lower than for the Bodega Bay site. Values for sole from sites away from major urban areas 

were not significantly different from Bodega Bay sole (Fig 34). 

The mean concentration of FACs-H reported here for English sole from the Elliott Bay site is typical of 

the values reported for English sole from selected urban sites in Puget Sound (Malins et al. 1985, Krahn 

et al. 1986b), such as sites near Everett and Mukilteo. However, in the most contaminated waterways 

of Puget Sound (i.e., the Duwamish Waterway and Eagle Harbor), levels of FACs-H in English sole bile 

were three to eight times higher (Krahn et al. 1986b) than those reported here. On the other hand, bile 

levels at nonurban sites (e.g., Useless Bay and President Point) in Puget Sound were similar to those 

found at the nonurban sites in this present study. 

The high mean concentration of FACs-L in the bile of English sole from the Dutch Harbor site is 

surprising considering the relatively low concentrations of LAHs measured in the sediments from this 

site. A major source of the LAHs to which the sole may have been exposed was likely waterborne 

petroleum products associated with fishing vessel activity in this harbor which is a major staging area for 

commercial fishing in the Bering Sea (Otto 1981). 

English sole from the Elliott Bay and Commencement Bay sites had significantly higher liver 

concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, HCB and chlordanes than did sole from the two reference sites 

(Nisqually Reach and Bodega Bay, Figs. 35 and 36). Although only a single liver composite was 

analyzed for sole from the Oakland Estuary site, concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes were 

among the highest found. There was no statistical differences for the concentrations of dieldrin in sole 

livers among the sites (Fig 36). 

The concentrations of PCBs and DDTs found in the livers of English sole from Puget Sound in the 

present study are similar to those reported previously in studies conducted during the late 1970s and 

early 1980s. For example, the concentrations of PCBs and DDTs in a single composite of five livers 

from sole captured in 1979 near the present sampling site along the Seattle Waterfront in Elliott Bay, 

were 9,200 and 820 ng/g respectively (Malins and al. 1980). These values are comparable to those 

reported here for PCBs and DDTs in multiple analyses of sole from the Elliott Bay site (10,000 ± 4,200 

ng/g and 760 ± 490 ng/g, respectively, n = 9). In addition, concentrations of PCBs and DDTs in 

composites of five livers of English sole from sites near the present site in Commencement Bay were 

6,400 and 350 ng/g, respectively (Malins and al. 1980), which are similar to the present measurements 

of 4,000 ± 850 and 660 ± 270 ng/g, respectively, n = 10. These comparisons suggest that the levels of 

PCBs and DDTs in Elliott and Commencement Bays did not change appreciably during the years from 

1979 to 1990. 

With the exception of LAHs and HAHs no significant differences were found among mean 

concentrations of all of the chemical contaminants in the stomach contents of English sole from any of 

the sampling sites (Figs. 37 - 39). Whereas mean concentrations of HAHs were significantly higher in 

sole from the Elliott Bay and Commencement Bay sites compared to the Bodega Bay site, the stomach 

content concentrations of LAHs at these two sites were not significantly different from the Bodega Bay 

site, but they were significantly higher than those for the site in Nisqually Reach. These findings are 

consistent with data from analyses of other samples from Elliott Bay: high concentrations of HAHs in 

sediment and high FACs-H concentrations in bile of English sole (Johnson et al. 1994). 
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Flathead Sole 

Flathead sole were collected from two sites in Puget Sound (Elliott and Commencement Bays) and in 

eight Alaskan sites. This species was not a primary target species for Puget Sound, therefore a limited 

number chemical analyses were performed, including biliary FACs and CHs in single composites of liver 

from fish from the Elliott Bay site to provide an urban comparison to the Alaskan data. The Lutak Inlet 

site was the Alaskan site designated as a reference site; however, two other sites were located in 

relatively nonurban areas—Boca de Quadra and Kamishak Bay. 

The mean concentrations of FACs-H in the bile of flathead sole from the Elliott Bay, Commencement 

Bay, and Dutch Harbor sites were significantly higher than for the Lutak Inlet reference site, whereas the 

mean concentration in sole from the Kamishak Bay site was significantly lower than that for the 

reference site (Fig 40). The mean concentrations of FACs-L in the bile of flathead sole from these three 

sites, as well as from the Skagway site, were significantly higher than for any of the other sites. 

Within the Alaskan sites, the highest mean concentration of PCBs in the liver of flathead sole was found 

at the Dutch Harbor site, which was significantly higher than those in sole from the nonurban sites (Fig 

41). Nevertheless, the concentration of PCBs in flathead sole from the Elliott Bay site in Seattle was 

approximately 7 times as high as that for the Dutch Harbor site. Mean concentrations of DDTs, 

chlordanes, dieldrin and HCB in flathead sole livers from all of the Alaskan sites were either not 

significantly different from, or were lower compared to that for the reference site (Fig 41). As 

described for liver concentrations of PCBs, concentrations of DDTs, chlordanes and dieldrin in sole 

from Elliott Bay were several times as high as those for sole from Alaskan sites (Fig 42). Too few 

composites of stomach contents from flathead sole were collected from Alaskan sites to permit 

statistical tests on the chemistry data. 

Fourhorn Sculpin 

Fourhorn sculpin were collected from the three sites on the Beaufort Sea. Sufficient amounts of bile for 

more than a single analysis were obtained only in sculpin from the Endicott Field site, hence statistical 

comparisons were not possible. Generally, however, the concentrations of FACs in the bile of fourhorn 

sculpin were low (Fig 43) compared to other Alaskan fish species, such as English sole and flathead 

sole from Dutch Harbor or Elliott Bay (Figs. 34 and 40, respectively). 

Concentrations of PCBs in the livers of fourhorn sculpin from the Oliktok Point site were several fold 

higher than those in fish from the Endicott Field site (Fig 44). No appreciable differences were found 

between concentrations of DDTs, HCB, dieldrin or chlordanes in the livers of sculpin from these two 

sites (Figs. 44 and 45). The mean concentrations of DDTs, chlordane and dieldrin were low, typical of 

nonurban sites; however, the mean concentrations of HCB in the livers of sculpin from both sites were 

somewhat higher than expected—at least double that found in flathead sole livers from the other 

Alaskan sites. 

Only one composite of stomach contents was obtained from sculpin collected at the Oliktok Point site, 

precluding statistical treatment of the data. Nevertheless, a few qualitative observations can be made 

about the data. The stomach contents in fourhorn sculpin from the Endicott Field and Oliktok Point 
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sites contained almost exclusively LAHs (110 ng/g and 99 ng/g, respectively). Concentrations of PCBs 

were 100 ± 10 ng/g and 230 ng/g, respectively, for these sites; all other organic contaminants were �

16 ng/g. 

Fish Diet Composition and Contaminant Uptake 

The uptake and fate of chemical contaminants by benthic organisms vary widely among phyla (and in 

some cases, among taxonomic groups within phyla). For example, rates of cytochrome P-450­

dependent monooxidation are slower in molluscs than in arthropods, both in vivo and in vitro (Varanasi 

et al. 1985). As a result, metabolism of PAHs is much slower in molluscs than in arthropods. Likewise, 

metabolism of PAHs is much slower in annelids than in vertebrates (Meador et al. 1995). For example, 

when fish (English sole), shrimp, molluscs, and amphipods were exposed to the same contaminated 

sediment for four weeks, the shrimp and fish had no detectable parent PAHs, whereas, during the same 

period, the molluscs and amphipods accumulated parent PAHs, with the amphipod species 

accumulating the highest concentration of PAHs (Varanasi et al. 1985). The authors concluded that 

factors other than metabolism, such as feeding mode and physiological processes, play a role in 

determining bioaccumulation of chemical contaminants by benthic organisms. Therefore, it is important 

to determine the taxonomic composition of the food organisms found in stomach contents of fish to 

better understand the process of food chain transfer of chemical contaminants. 

Historically, studies of the food habits of fishes have been conducted to provide information about the 

interactions between fish populations and prey populations, with the goal of improving management of 

fish stocks. The present study, however, was undertaken within the context of a national pollution 

monitoring program, and pertains to the process of food chain transfer of chemical contaminants rather 

than to fisheries management. 

The taxonomic analyses of stomach contents revealed that, with few exceptions, the eight fish species 

considered had fed primarily on benthic invertebrates (Fig 46). Statistical analyses performed on 

stomach contents of fish included mean percentages of the prey phyla of the food types of greatest 

interest, namely arthropods, molluscs, vertebrates (i.e., small fish), and annelid worms, because of their 

relevance to pollution studies. This section will deal primarily with these four prey phyla. 

To assess the uptake and fate of contaminants from prey organisms, the percentages of the two prey 

phyla which metabolize PAHs (vertebrates and arthropods) were combined, as were the two which do 

not (molluscs and annelids). When the fish species were plotted according to the average percentages 

of these two combined categories in their diets (Fig 47), it was evident that English sole and hornyhead 

turbot consumed primarily non-metabolizers, whereas fourhorn sculpin, barred sand bass, black 

croaker, and flathead sole consumed primarily metabolizers. White croaker and starry flounder each 

consumed both categories of prey. 

The dietary composition of flathead sole from Dutch Harbor may provide clues which could better 

define the exposure of this species to LAHs. Flathead sole from this site had the highest bile 

concentrations of FACs-L found in this species, yet the stomach contents from these fish had no 
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detectable levels of LAHs. The absence of LAHs in the stomach contents of these fish may have been 

related in part to the finding that the stomach contents of fish from Dutch Harbor consisted primarily of 

other fish and arthropods, both of which readily metabolize LAHs to polar compounds that are not 

detectable by routine GC/MS procedures. As was discussed previously, an explanation for this 

observation could be that another important route of uptake of LAHs for flathead sole in Dutch Harbor 

was via the water column. 

Statistical Correlations 

Spearman’s rank correlations (Zar 1984) were carried out for the concentrations of the major 

categories of organic contaminants in the following comparisons for all species combined: sediments vs. 

tissues (liver and bile), sediments vs. stomach contents, and stomach contents vs. liver or bile. In 

addition, similar correlations have been investigated for the six target species of fish for which the 

number of sites sampled was large enough: flathead sole, English sole, starry flounder, white croaker, 

hornyhead turbot, and barred sand bass. Data used for these correlations were taken from analyses of 

samples collected during Cycles I-V. 

All species 

Highly significant correlations (p � 0.0001) were found between concentrations of PCBs, chlordanes, 

DDTs, and dieldrin, respectively, in sediment and levels of these compounds in fish livers of all target 

species combined (Table 4). Similar strong associations (p � 0.0001) were found between both HAHs 

in sediment vs. FACs-H in bile and LAHs in sediment vs. FACs-L in bile, respectively. Concentrations 

of PCBs, HAHs, DDTs, PAHs, dieldrin, and chlordanes in stomach contents were also highly 

correlated (p<0.001 to p<0.0001) with those in sediments, liver and/or bile (Table 4). 

In addition, strong positive correlations were also found between concentrations of chemicals in 

sediment and those in fish tissues when selected species were tested individually (Tables 5-10). These 

correlations were less significant than those for all species combined, due in part to smaller sample sizes. 

Barred sand bass 

For this species, a positive correlation (p � 0.01) was found between sediment levels vs. liver levels of 

PCBs (Table 5). At a lower level of significance, positive correlations (p � 0.05) were also found 

between sediment vs. bile or liver levels of LAHs and chlordanes, respectively. 

White croaker 

For white croaker, strong positive correlations (p � 0.0001) were found between sediment and 

stomach contents levels of PCBs, DDTs, and HAHs; stomach contents and bile or liver levels of PAHs, 

PCBs, DDTs, and HAHs; and sediment and bile or liver levels of PCBs and FACs-H, respectively 

(Table 6). Positive correlations of lower significance (p � 0.001) were found between stomach 
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contents and liver levels of dieldrin and chlordanes, sediment and liver levels of these same compounds 

and of DDTs as well, and sediment vs. stomach contents levels of PAHs. Correlations of yet lower 

significance (p � 0.01) were found for sediment vs. stomach contents levels of dieldrin, stomach 

contents vs. bile levels of LAHs, and sediment vs. bile levels of PAHs and LAHs, respectively. 

Hornyhead turbot 

Positive correlations (p � 0.01) were found between stomach contents and liver levels of DDTs and 

PCBs of hornyhead turbot, between sediment vs. liver levels of PCBs, and between sediment vs. 

stomach contents levels of DDTs, respectively (Table 7). At p � 0.05, positive correlations were found 

between sediment vs. liver levels of chlordanes and HCB, and between sediment vs. stomach contents 

levels of PCBs. Sediment dieldrin concentrations were always below the detection limit at sites where 

hornyhead turbot were collected, so correlations between sediment and liver or stomach contents could 

not be performed. 

Starry flounder 

For this species, a strong positive correlation (p � 0.0001) was found between sediment and stomach 

contents levels of dieldrin (Table 8). At a slightly lower level of significance (p � 0.001), positive 

correlations were found between sediment and stomach contents levels of DDTs, sediment and liver 

levels of PCBs, and stomach contents and liver levels of dieldrin. At the p � 0.01 level of significance, 

positive correlations were found for sediment vs. stomach contents levels of chlordanes and PCBs, 

sediment vs. liver levels of DDTs and chlordanes, and stomach contents vs. liver levels of DDTs. 

Positive correlations of lowest significance (p � 0.05) were found for sediment vs. stomach contents 

levels of HAHs and PAHs, sediment vs. liver levels of HCB and dieldrin, and stomach contents vs. liver 

levels of chlordanes and PCBs. 

English sole 

For English sole, strong positive correlations (p � 0.0001) were found between sediment vs. biliary 

FACs-L, and between sediment and stomach contents levels of HAHs, respectively (Table 9). At 

somewhat lower levels of significance, positive correlations (p � 0.001) were also found between 

sediment and liver levels of the chlordanes, PCBs, and HCB, between sediment and biliary FACs PAH, 

and between stomach contents vs. bile levels of PAHs and FACs-L, respectively. At the p � 0.01 level 

of significance, positive correlations were found for LAHs and PAHs in sediment vs. stomach contents, 

and DDTs and HAHs in sediment vs. liver or bile. Positive correlations of lowest significance (p �

0.05) were found for DDTs and HAHs in stomach contents vs. liver or bile. 

Flathead sole 

For flathead sole, positive correlations (p � 0.05 to p � 0.01) were found between sediment and bile 

levels of HAHs and PAHs, respectively (Table 10). Sample size was relatively small for flathead sole (n 

= 9 to 11). This species was collected in Alaska, where sediment contaminant levels were generally 

low, so strong correlations between sediment, liver or bile, and stomach contents would not be 
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expected. In fact, sediment dieldrin concentrations were so low (always below the detection limit) that 

correlations between sediment and liver or stomach contents could not be performed. 

Summary for fish species 

All statistically significant correlations (p � 0.05) for individual species were positive. White croaker 

had the largest number of statistically significant correlations (p � 0.01, 19 out of 24 categories), 

followed by starry flounder with 15, English sole with 14, hornyhead turbot with 7, barred sand bass 

with 3, and flathead sole with 2. The number of significant correlations per species is only partially a 

reflection of the number of samples collected. For example, more than twice as many samples of starry 

flounder were collected as were obtained of English sole, but English sole had almost as many significant 

correlations as did starry flounder. 

Of the significant correlations (p � 0.05) for individual species, 27 were for sediment vs. liver or bile, 17 

were for stomach contents vs. liver or bile, and 16 were for sediment vs. stomach contents. PCBs had 

the largest number of correlations in the individual species (11 out of 18 correlations), followed by 

DDTs (10), chlordanes (8), PAHs (8), HAHs (8), and LAHs (6). Thus persistent compounds tended 

to show more significant correlations than those more readily metabolized. 

Although interspecies comparisons of tissue levels of chemicals are complicated by potential speciesspecific differences, these very strong correlations demonstrate the important relationships between 

concentrations of toxic chemicals in sediments and the uptake of these chemicals by sedimentassociated organisms. This relationship is clearly apparent upon examination of the data. For example, 

the sites with the highest sediment concentrations of PCBs and PAHs (south San Diego Bay and Elliott 

Bay) were also the sites that had fish species with the highest concentrations of PCBs in liver tissues and 

FACs-H in bile (barred sand bass and English sole, respectively). 

Summary Analysis of Statistical Correlations 

Contaminant concentrations in environmental compartments (sediment, stomach contents and liver or 

bile) were in many cases highly intercorrelated for each bottom-dwelling fish species. To the extent that 

sediment, stomach contents, and liver or bile levels are intercorrelated for a given species, measurement 

of any one compartment provides a good index of levels of environmental contaminants. Because a 

large number of relationships among species, chemical classes, and environmental compartments could 

be examined, it is useful to summarize the results given in Tables 4-10 in another way. Correlations 

among the chemical concentrations measured in the three environmental compartments are summarized 

graphically in Fig 48 for two species, hornyhead turbot and English sole. The top part of the figure 

shows pairwise scattergrams of the concentrations of FACs-H (bile) and HAHs (sediment, stomach 

contents) for each of the two species. To provide a graphical comparison between species, the 3 

correlation coefficients computed for each species are plotted on a 3-dimensional graph at the bottom 

of the figure. Each of the compartment pairs is associated with one axis of the graph (i.e., each species 

is represented by a separate point). The correlation coefficients for bile FACs-H vs. stomach contents 
85 
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HAHs) are plotted on the axis perpendicular to the page, and the values are represented by the size of 

the plotted circle. The graph shows that sediment and stomach contents levels of HAHs and those of 

bile FACs-H are highly correlated (rs > 0.50 in all pairs) for English sole. In contrast, concentrations in 

the three compartments are not well correlated for hornyhead turbot (rs < 0.40 in all cases). 

Summary analyses for the chemical classes are given in Figures 49-51. For LAHs, HAHs, and PAHs, 

considered separately, English sole exhibited consistently high correlations among sediment, stomach 

contents, and bile (Fig 49). In comparison, all other species showed lower intercorrelations for LAHs, 

but only hornyhead turbot and starry flounder showed consistently low correlations for HAHs. For total 

PAHs, starry flounder was unusual in having a high correlation between sediment and stomach contents 

levels, but low correlations between sediment or stomach contents levels and bile levels. 

For PCBs, all species except flathead sole had relatively high correlations among sediment, stomach 

contents, and liver levels. In contrast, HCB levels in one compartment did not provide a good 

prediction of levels in another (Fig 50). For the pesticides, levels of DDTs among the three 

compartments were generally intercorrelated except in the cases of flathead sole and barred sand bass. 

Levels of chlordanes were not highly intercorrelated for most species, and for dieldrin intercorrelations 

were particularly poor for English sole and flathead sole (Fig 51). 

Seven of the sites sampled contained sediments with < 20% silt-clay, indicating predominance of sand 

and gravel. These types of sediments are less likely to accumulate as high a level of chemical 

contaminants than are sediments with more silt-clay (Means et al. 1980). Whereas some of these sites 

with < 20% silt-clay had low concentrations of many contaminants, these sites are primarily nonurban 

sites that receive smaller amounts of chemicals from anthropogenic sources. Such nonurban sites were 

needed as comparison sites, as it was difficult to find nonurban sites located in muddy areas. Moreover, 

when the sites with < 20% silt-clay were eliminated from the correlations between levels of chemicals in 

sediments, stomach contents and tissues, the strength of the correlations was not adversely affected. 

This suggests that even though a few of the sampling sites had both < 20% clay-silt and low levels of 

sediment-associated contaminants, the sediment contaminants concentrations generally reflected the 

target fish species exposure. 

Statistical Analysis of Trends 

Trend analysis was conducted for sites which had at least four years of analytical data covering a span 

of five years or more. The trend analysis was a two-step process: the first step of the process involved 

Spearman rank correlations of contaminant concentrations for each of three types of “compartments” 

(sediment, liver/bile and stomach contents of each fish species) for each of 12 sites that met the above 

mentioned criteria. (See Appendix A for a listing of the results of these correlations.). The second step 

consisted of meta-analysis to consider changes in contaminant concentrations over time in all 

compartments measured at a site. The results of the meta-analyses will be presented in this section. 

There are several advantages to considering all three compartments simultaneously. Sediment data are 

available for each site for all years it was sampled because sediment can always be collected, whereas 

tissue samples were either not always collected or were collected from different species during some 
87 
88 
89 
90


years at certain sites due to population fluctuations. Tissue, on the other hand, reflects bioavailability 

and is not subject to bioturbation. Furthermore, a trend detected in one compartment at a site using 

Spearman rank correlation is more convincing if a similar trend is also evident in other compartments at 

that site. 

Trends were assessed for chlordanes, dieldrin, DDTs, HAHs, LAHs, and PCBs. Because 

concentrations of HCB in sediment and tissues were near or below the limits of detection at most sites, 

trends for HCB will not be reported. Of the 72 possible trends (12 sites and 6 chemical classes), 29% 

(21 of 72) showed an increasing trend, 53% (38 of 72) showed no trend in concentrations, and 18% 

(13 of 72) showed decreasing concentrations (Table 11). The highest number of increasing trends was 

among the PAHs, eight for HAHs and five for LAHs, followed by dieldrin (4), chlordanes (3), DDTs 

(1) and PCBs (2). Among the decreasing trends, chlordanes, PCBs and DDTs each had three, with 

dieldrin having two and LAHs one. 

Sites with positive trends for concentrations of PAHs were located in both nonurban and urban areas. 

All three of the nonurban reference sites in the contiguous U.S.—Dana Point, Bodega Bay and 

Nisqually Reach —had significant increases in HAHs, LAHs, or both. The urban sites with increasing 

trends for these PAHs included Hunters Point and Southampton Shoal in San Francisco Bay, Long 

Beach and Outer Harbor in San Pablo Bay, and Commencement Bay in Puget Sound. The Coos Bay 

site also had increasing concentrations of chlordanes and DDTs. Positive trends for chlordanes were 

observed at Southampton Shoal, and increases in dieldrin concentrations were found for the Dana 

Point, South San Diego Bay, Coos Bay and Elliott Bay sites. The only sites with increasing 

concentrations of PCBs were both in Puget Sound—Commencement Bay and Elliott Bay. 

The Dana Point reference site had the highest number of contaminants with decreasing trends, including 

chlordanes, DDTs, and PCBs. Decreasing trends for dieldrin and DDTs were also found at the Hunters 

Point site, and for PCBs and LAHs at the South San Diego Bay site. The only other decreasing trends 

were found for the following individual contaminant classes at single sites: dieldrin (Bodega Bay), DDTs 

(Hunters Point), chlordanes (Nisqually Reach), PCBs (San Pedro Bay Outer Harbor), and chlordanes 

(West Santa Monica Bay). 

In those 38 cases for which temporal trends in contaminant concentration were not detected, high 

natural variability and sample size constraints may have resulted in insufficient statistical power to detect 

underlying temporal gradients. The importance of resolving this question points to the need for 

continued collection of chemical data to increase the number of observations per site and thereby 

reduce the statistical uncertainty potentially masking temporal trends. Moreover, the persistence of CHs 

and the consistent increases in concentrations of PAHs, which are persistent in certain abiotic 

compartments (e.g., sediments), should be of concern to resource managers, because research is 

showing linkages between exposures of marine organisms to these chemicals and a variety of 

pathological conditions (Myers et al. 1994, Myers et al. 1998) and adverse effects, including impaired 

reproduction (Johnson et al. 1998), growth (Casillas et al. 1995) and immunocompetence (Arkoosh et 

al. 1998). 

The temporal trends found in this project differ in some respects from those recently reported for 

concentrations of the same classes of chemicals in mussel (Mytilus edulis) tissues collected and 
91 
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analyzed between approximately 1986 and 1993 (O’Connor 1996). Spearman rank correlations were 

conducted for 44 sites on the West Coast of the U.S. and significant (p � 0.05) negative temporal 

trends in mussel concentrations of DDTs and PCBs were found at three and four sites, respectively; no 

positive trends were found. No significant trends for PAHs were reported. These differences from the 

findings of the present study may be due to a number of factors, including the fact that O’Connor 

(1996) examined trends in mussel tissues only, whereas the present study examined trends in sediment 

and fish. Mussels are suspension feeders and are generally located around the periphery of 

embayments attached to rocks and other structures, whereas the target fish used in this project are 

bottom feeders associated with areas of embayments where contaminated sediments are generally 

deposited. 
93 

SUMMARY 

The results presented in this report parallel in many ways those reported in previous reports (Varanasi et 

al. 1988, 1989b) on the first three years of the West Coast component of the NBSP. These reports 

included data for 31 West Coast sites sampled between 1984 and 1986, whereas data for four 

additional years for 50 sites (the original 31 sites plus 19 additional sites) are reported here. These 

additional years of data and sites dramatically strengthened the statistical power of the current data 

analyses. For example, in Varanasi et al. (1989b) concentrations of HAHs in sediments were 

significantly higher at only two sites compared to the Dana Point reference site. However, in the present 

report, 27 sites had significantly higher concentrations of HAHs than did the Dana Point site. Similarly, 

whereas they reported sediment concentrations of PCBs significantly higher at five sites relative to Dana 

Point, in the present report 24 sites had significantly higher concentrations. Two factors were likely 

major contributors to the differences between these reports. The effects of intrasite variability in 

chemical concentrations, so critical to intersite statistical significance in the first three years of this study 

(Varanasi et al. 1989b), diminished as more analyses accumulated in the succeeding four years. The 

increased numbers of samples tended to reduce the intrasite variability and provided more accurate 

appraisals of between-site differences. Also, the log transformed chemistry data presented in GT-2 

plots in this report visually facilitated the drawing of statistical distinctions between the highly 

contaminated and minimally contaminated sites. 

In general, results of the first seven years of the Pacific Coast portion of the NBSP demonstrated that 

the highest levels of organic contaminants were found in sites in San Diego Bay, San Pedro Bay (Los 

Angeles and Long Beach), Santa Monica Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Elliott Bay (Seattle). 

Intermediate levels of pollution were found in Monterey Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Commencement Bay 

(Tacoma), whereas sites in Oregon and Alaska were among the least polluted. 

In addition to defining the geographical distribution and levels of contaminants at selected sites on the 

West Coast, a major goal of this program was to evaluate possible temporal trends in these 

contaminants. This program is unique among long-term monitoring programs because it addresses 

trends in surficial sediments and associated fish. There might be some objections to the use of data from 

surface sediment analyses rather than using sediment cores because surface sediments are more subject 

to bioturbation. Surface sediment may not reflect contaminant inputs in a precise way due to 

bioturbation; however, every stratum in a core sample was once a surface layer and likely also 

underwent bioturbation. Furthermore, many coastal marine sites are unsuitable for coring due to natural 

and human-induced mixing, and to the presence of rocks, wood, or other debris. This is particularly 

true in industrialized areas. 

Several chemical classes were demonstrated to have increasing or decreasing temporal trends at one or 

more of the 12 sites for which trend analyses were performed. A variety of factors can explain these 

trends. Increasing trends in HAHs and/or LAHs were observed at five urban sites located near growing 

population centers, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tacoma. There are several potential 

sources of PAHs in urban areas (e. g., industry, ship activity and automobile traffic) which result in 

release of PAHs onto roadways and into the atmosphere and waterways. Subsequently, PAHs are 
94


discharged into marine waters through precipitation and surface-water runoff (Hoffman et al. 1984). 

The finding that another urban site, Elliott Bay, monitored in this project showed no temporal trend in 

concentrations of PAHs may have been due in part to regulatory measures instituted in this bay over the 

past several years [e.g., relocation of a major sewage outfall and reductions in the number of combined 

sewer overflow events (Crecelius et al. 1995)]. To achieve decreases in concentrations of these 

pollutants in the marine environment near urban areas, additional control and remediation measures may 

be required. 

The increasing temporal trends in PAHs also observed at the nonurban sites (Dana Point, Bodega Bay, 

and Nisqually Reach) need to be interpreted with caution. All three sites are located near the urban 

areas that also demonstrated increasing trends in PAHs and, thus, could be influenced by the 

redistribution of contaminants emanating from these areas. Also, the trends at the Dana Point and 

Bodega Bay sites were highly significant. Nevertheless, the concentrations of PAHs in the sediment and 

fish stomach contents from these three sites were quite low, generally near or below the limits of 

detection. Concentrations of biliary FACs were more variable, but were also generally low compared 

to all other sites. 

The only increasing temporal trends in PCBs were found at the two urban sites in Puget Sound, located 

in Commencement and Elliott Bays. Both of these sites were located near waterways and nearshore 

areas which were previously shown to have relatively high concentrations of PCBs in sediment (Malins 

et al. 1984). Thus, because PCBs are no longer being manufactured, it is likely that the redistribution of 

sediment particles and other materials, as well as movement of fish, from nearby areas with 

accumulations of PCBs into these sampling sites, which were located in depositional areas in deeper 

areas of the bays, may have accounted for this observed trend in concentrations of PCBs. 

A similar phenomenon may have influenced the finding of increasing temporal trends in DDTs at the 

Coos Bay site. At the Coos Bay site, the concentrations of DDTs in sediment and in starry flounder 

were among the lowest measured in this study. Moreover, the trend for Coos Bay was only weakly 

significant; thus this trend must be viewed with caution. These pesticides are persistent and were widely 

used in agriculture and in urban areas, as well. They are transported into coastal waters by geochemical 

processes. Even though production and use of DDT was halted in the 1970s, agricultural urban areas 

may still serve as a major DDT reservoir. 

Of the 72 temporal trends investigated, only 13 (18%) were decreasing and most of these were found 

among the CHs. With the exception of the Nisqually Reach site in Puget Sound and the Hunters Point 

site in San Francisco Bay, all of these decreasing trends among CHs occurred at sites in Southern 

California. Decreasing trends of PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes were found at the Dana Point reference 

site. Of interest were the presence of similar trends for sites in nearby San Pedro Bay, including PCBs 

at the Outer Harbor site and DDTs at the Long Beach site. It is possible that the same management 

actions aimed at source control of CHs may have affected all three of these sites. The decreasing 

temporal trend observed for PCBs at the South San Diego Bay site in the present study was also 

reported by McCain et al. (1992); however, they reported the results of Spearman rank correlations 

and meta-analysis for only 5 years of data. Thus, the present findings strengthen their observations. 

Possible explanations for this apparent decrease may be related to source control and clean-up efforts 

instituted by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in the industrial areas of San Diego 
95


Bay (Peter Michael, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, personal communication). The 

only other Southern California site with a decreasing trend was West Santa Monica Bay for levels of 

chlordanes. 

Decreasing trends outside of southern California were found at the Hunters Point site in San Francisco 

Bay (DDTs), and Nisqually Reach in Puget Sound (chlordanes). Due to the low concentrations of 

chlordanes in sediment (below detection limits) and fish tissues (� 10 ng/g) from the Nisqually Reach 

site, the observed trend must be viewed with caution. Decreasing trends for PAHs were found at only 

one site: a highly significant trend (p � 0.001) for LAHs in South San Diego Bay. The reasons for this 

trend is not currently understood. 

In summary, the NBSP was successful in generating an extensive overview of the recent status of 

environmental quality in coastal waters. Such knowledge is important for effective management of the 

nation’s highly productive coastal habitats and the resources they support. The seven-year (1984­

1990) results of the West Coast portion of the NBSP demonstrate that concentrations of PAHs and 

CHs in sediments generally correlate well with levels of these compounds or their derivatives in bottomdwelling fish. Such findings emphasize the importance of measuring contaminant levels in both the 

physical (sediment) and biological compartments. However, the variability in many of the measured 

parameters–due to natural variation or patchiness of contaminant distributions in many urban areas– 

points to the need for continued collection of chemical data to provide a sound statistical basis for the 

analyses of trends in pollutant concentrations. 

The results also suggest that, since the mid-1980s, the concentrations of the persistent CHs, such as 

PCBs and DDTs in sediment and fish, show no consistent temporal trends, whereas levels of PAHs, 

which are non-point source contaminants, showed consistent increases at both nonurban and urban 

near-coastal sites. These findings indicate that, to achieve further decreases in concentrations of 

anthropogenic pollutants, additional control and remediation measures would appear to be required. 
96

97 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Collective thanks are expressed to our colleagues in the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

and National Ocean Service (NOS), NOAA, who participated in the conceptualization and execution 

of the Pacific Coast portion of the NBSP. Special appreciation to Drs. Nancy Foster, Charles Ehler, 

Andrew Robertson, Douglas Wolfe, and Donna Turgeon, NOS, for their support and encouragement. 

Special thanks are given for the technical assistance of Nicholaus Adams, Diane Del BeccaroHollenbaugh, Kristin Bryant, Jeremy Eisenman, Patricia Emry, Deborah Holstad,Jonathan Joss, Orlando 

Maynes, Eunice Schnell, Judith Werner, and Dana Whitney. Kyle Kardong and Doug Smith assisted in 

preparing the comparison interval graphs. Appreciation is also given to the personnel of the NOAA 

ship McArthur and to Environmental Conservation Division staff members for sample collection; and to 

Drs. John Stein and Tracy Collier for manuscript review. 
98

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FOOTNOTES FOR APPENDIX TABLE


Spearman Rank Analysis


Site abbreviations are listed in Table 3.


Abbreviations of chemical names are in Table 1.


The Spearman rank correlation coefficient and its two-tailed significance level are listed as rho and


signif(2t), respectively.


Samples were not collected every year at all of the sites, therefore # years is used to show the number 

of annual cycles within the 7 year series for which samples were collected. 

Min- and Max Conc shows the minimum and maximum analyte concentrations for each site (FACs 

concentrations are ng/g bile; all other concentrations are ng/g dry weight).