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CYANOBACTERIA AND FISH: A TOXIC HEALTH THREAT TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES?
Impact/Purpose:
The prevalence of toxic cyanobacteria is increasing in freshwater worldwide, thus humans reliant on fish for their diet, such as Native Americans, may face adverse health effects from eating contaminated fish. This research will determine if members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are exposed to the cyanotoxin microcystin by consuming fish harvested from reservation lakes. This research also will determine if cooking fish makes microcystin more biologically available, and therefore more likely to move through the food web.
Description:
It is expected that the cyanotoxin microcystin will be found in trout collected from lakes with cyanobacteria blooms. The results from this study will be used in conjunction with a fish consumption survey recently conducted by the Colville Confederated tribes and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Positive microcystin concentrations measured throughout the summer then can be transformed into a dietary exposure assessment using information collected in the consumption survey. These exposure profiles will be used to form risk assessments to identify the degree of risk being posed to tribal members.
Potential to Further Environmental/Human
Health Protection
With the dependency on fish as an inexpensive protein source for both
tribal and other communities worldwide, a better understanding of the
potential for trophic transfer of cyanotoxins is necessary. Determining
the levels of the most common cyanotoxin, microcystin, in fish tissue
will help communities reliant on consuming fish from polluted lakes
determine dietary exposure assessments for fish and other aquatic biota.
Identifying risks associated with consumption of microcystin will help
communities determine mitigation practices for improving water quality
and decreasing the occurrence of cyanobacteria.