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GREAT LAKES FISH CONTAMINANT PROGRAM
Citation:
Impact/Purpose:
The long term goal for the Great Lakes is to reduce chemicals in fish to safe levels for unlimited human consumption. Currently this goal is not being met for any of the Great Lakes. Monitoring fish contaminant levels also helps us determine whether fish consuming wildlife are being impaired by toxics in the ecosystem.
Description:
Contaminant levels in fish generally reflect overall contaminant levels in the environment. For example, contaminant concentrations in fish at the top of the food chain reflect contaminant levels in both the surrounding water and in organisms below them in the food chain. Contaminant levels in fish also give us information about risks to organisms in higher trophic levels, such as fish consuming wildlife. Thus we can use fish as biomonitors of overall water quality and ecosystem health. By monitoring contaminant trends in Great Lakes fish, we can determine whether the Great Lakes basin ecosystem is becoming more healthy with regard to toxics. Toxic chemicals pose a threat not only to aquatic and wildlife species, but to human health as well, since humans are at the top of many food chains. Fish consumption provides the greatest potential for exposure of humans to toxic substances found in the Great Lakes when compared with other activities such as drinking tap water or swimming. Many of the contaminants that are present in the environment have the potential to increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and genetic mutations through long-term, low-level exposure.