Toxic Contaminants in Rockfishes (Sebastes spp) from Puget Sound, WA, USA

Urban Sebastes populations exhibit some of the greatest levels of persistent bioaccumulative and toxic contaminants (PBTs) of any fish species studied in Puget Sound to date.  Specific Sebastes life history characteristics increase their risk of exposureto PBTs.  Because PBTs accumulate in a fish’s body over time, Sebastes' great longevity can result in high accumulation of PBTs.  In addition, these species occupy a relatively high trophic level, which increases their exposure to PBTs from prey through biomagnification.  Their relatively non-migratory or sedentary nature also increases exposure for those individuals residing in polluted habitats. PBTs may jeopardize recovery of Sebastes in Puget Sound by affecting reproduction; we observed PBT transfer from mother-to-embryo, resulting in high contaminant exposure to this sensitive live stage.  Maternal transfer of PBTs to embryos resulted in a reduction of PBTs as female fish became reproductive, whereas PBTs increased continuously with age in male fish. We observed relatively high catch rates of quillback rockfish from urban index sites compared to non-urban index sites over a ten year period of bottom trawl-sampling, suggesting urban areas may represent an important component of reproductive potential for recovery of Sebastes in Puget Sound.