Persistent organic pollutants in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): implications for resident killer whales of British Columbia and adjacent waters.

We measured persistent organic pollutant (POP) concentrations in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in order to characterize dietary exposure in the highly contaminated, salmon-eating northeastern Pacific resident killer whales. We estimate that 97 to 99% of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) in returning adult chinook were acquired during their time at sea. Highest POP concentrations (including PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, and DDT) and lowest lipids were observed in the more southerly chinook sampled.

The importance of marine foods to a near-urban first nation community in coastal British Columbia, Canada: toward a risk-benefit assessment.

There is increasing concern that some subsistence-oriented consumer groups may be exposed to elevated levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) through the consumption of certain traditional foods, including fish and other aquatic resources. Exposure to POPs has been associated with adverse health effects including immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and altered development in moderate to highly exposed humans and wildlife. The Sencoten (Saanich) First Nation consists of approximately 1900 people inhabiting communities in a near-urban setting in coastal British Columbia, Canada.