Review of the Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Marine Pollution in the North and Central Coast Regions of British Columbia March 2008 B.A. Faggetter, Ocean Ecology 1662 Parmenter Ave. Prince Rupert, BC V8J 4R3 Telephone: (250) 622-2501 Email: [email protected] Review of Marine Pollution Review of the Environmental and Socio- economic Impacts of Marine Pollution in the North and Central Coast Regions of British Columbia Prepared for: Chris Picard, Marine Biologist/Planner Maya Paul, Resource Economist/ Socioeconomic Planner North Coast-Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society 255 West 3rd Avenue Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1L2 Prepared by: Ocean Ecology 2 Ocean Ecology Review of Marine Pollution Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 8 Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 10 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 13 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 16 2. Contaminants and Pollutants in the Marine Environment ......................................................... 18 3. The National Pollutant Release Inventory ................................................................................. 22 4. Measuring Effects of Contamination ......................................................................................... 23 4.1. Cellular Responses ............................................................................................................. 23 4.2. Whole Organism Responses .............................................................................................. 23 4.3. Population Responses ........................................................................................................ 24 4.4. Community Responses ....................................................................................................... 24 4.5. Ecosystem Responses ....................................................................................................... 24 5. Overview of the North and Central Coast Environment ............................................................ 26 5.1. Area and Population ........................................................................................................... 26 5.2. First Nations ........................................................................................................................ 31 5.3. Physical Environment ......................................................................................................... 36 5.4. Oceanography .................................................................................................................... 44 5.5. Cimate ................................................................................................................................. 49 5.6. Habitats ............................................................................................................................... 50 6. Persistent Organic Pollutants as Global Pollutants ................................................................... 54 6.1. Pollution Sources ................................................................................................................ 54 6.1.1. Long-Range Transport of POPs in the Pacific ............................................................. 54 6.1.2. Legacy POPs ............................................................................................................... 55 6.1.3. PCBs ............................................................................................................................ 55 6.1.4. Dioxins and Furans ...................................................................................................... 55 6.1.5. PBDEs .......................................................................................................................... 56 6.1.6. PAHs ............................................................................................................................ 56 6.1.7. Organochlorine Pesticides ........................................................................................... 57 6.1.8. Other POP Contaminants ............................................................................................ 57 6.2. Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts ..................................................................... 57 6.2.1. Endocrine Disruption .................................................................................................... 58 6.2.2. Toxic Equivalents ......................................................................................................... 58 6.2.3. Specific Toxic Effects of POPs ..................................................................................... 58 6.2.4. Impacts on Fish ............................................................................................................ 60 6.2.5. Impacts on Birds ........................................................................................................... 60 6.2.6. Impacts on Marine Mammals ....................................................................................... 62 6.2.7. Impacts on Humans ..................................................................................................... 66 6.3. Concerns in the North and Central Coast ........................................................................... 67 6.4. Monitoring ........................................................................................................................... 68 6.5. Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 70 7. Heavy Metal Pollutants .............................................................................................................. 71 7.1. Pollution Sources ................................................................................................................ 71 7.1.1. Mercury ........................................................................................................................ 71 7.1.2. Copper .......................................................................................................................... 71 7.1.3. Cadmium ...................................................................................................................... 72 7.1.4. Lead.............................................................................................................................. 72 7.1.5. Other Metals ................................................................................................................. 72 7.2. Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts ..................................................................... 72 7.2.1. Mercury ........................................................................................................................ 72 7.2.2. Copper .......................................................................................................................... 73 7.2.3. Cadmium ...................................................................................................................... 73 7.2.4. Lead.............................................................................................................................. 73 3 Ocean Ecology Review of Marine Pollution 7.3. Concerns in the North and Central Coast ........................................................................... 74 7.4. Monitoring ........................................................................................................................... 74 7.5. Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 74 8. Sewage Pollution ....................................................................................................................... 75 8.1. Pollution Sources ................................................................................................................ 75 8.2. Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts ..................................................................... 77 8.3. Concerns in the North and Central Coast ........................................................................... 80 8.4. Monitoring ........................................................................................................................... 81 8.5. Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 82 9. Oil Pollution ................................................................................................................................ 88 9.1. Pollution Sources ................................................................................................................ 88 9.2. Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts ..................................................................... 89 9.2.1. Habitat Sensitivity ........................................................................................................