Ecological Risk Assessment for Bay of Fundy: DDT and Mercury

Ecological Risk Assessment for the Bay of Fundy: DDT and Mercury
Angella Mercer and Karen A. Kidd, Canadian Rivers Institute and Biology Department University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB
BoFEP Technical Report No. 9, June 2015, 159 pages.
The Bay of Fundy supports a high diversity of marine life and is an ecologically and economically critical resource for the region. Despite its importance, little is known about whether contaminants are currently threatening the species that inhabit the Bay. It has been more than three decades since the pesticide DDT was banned for use in North America. However, it can still be found in this region because of its persistence and because it is transported long distances in air and water currents from tropical areas where it is still used. Another contaminant of concern is mercury. In contrast to DDT, mercury is present naturally in the environment but its levels in aquatic systems and biota have also been affected by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels or mining. Both DDT and the organic form of mercury concentrate through aquatic food webs to levels that can cause health problems for fish eaters or the fish themselves. This report provides an overview on these two contaminants of concern, reviews the concentrations of DDT and Hg that have been measured in wildlife in the Bay of Fundy, and assesses whether these levels may be posing a risk to these species.
Bay of Fundy Risk Assessment for Hg and DDT Final