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| Title | Condition of Coastal Waters of Washington State, 2000-2003: A Statistical Summary | |||
| Month-Year Published | December 2007 | |||
| Online Availability |
4737 kilobytes, requires version 4.0 or later of Adobe Acrobat Reader Software get Acrobat Reader
(0703051.zip, 1738 kilobytes)
Appendices G, H, and I
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| Short Description |
This report is a data summary from the Coastal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) sampling in Washington State, 2000-2003. Coastal EMAP was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure the condition of the nation′s coastal waters. The program is a partnership between EPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the coastal states. Numerous measurements were taken in Puget Sound (including the San Juan Islands) in 2000, intertidal areas in 2002, and offshore areas (continental shelf) in 2003 to assess the physical environment, resident invertebrates and fish, and exposure of those animals to pollutants. (Also see abstract below) | |||
| Publication Number | 07-03-051 | |||
| Author(s) | Partridge, V. | |||
| Print Availability | ||||
| Number of pages | 132 + app (251 total) | |||
| Keywords | coastal, environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, fish, Grays Harbor , Hood Canal, marine, metals, monitoring, ocean, Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Skagit , urban, water, Willapa Bay | |||
| Subject Waterbodies |
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| Related Publications | Title | Relationship | ||
| Condition of Outer Coastal Estuaries of Washington State, 1999 - A Statistical Summary | similar topic | |||
| Abstract | Long Description |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed the Coastal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) to measure the condition of the nation′s coastal waters. Numerous water, sediment, and biological measurements provide information on the physical environment, resident invertebrates and fish, and exposure of those animals to pollutants. Coastal EMAP was the first large-scale assessment of all of Washington State′s coastal areas and provides a baseline for future coastal assessments. The Washington State Department of Ecology and the National Marine Fisheries Service sampled the following areas: This report summarizes 2000-2003 results. A previous report documented 1999 results. During 2000-2003, 184 randomly-selected sites were sampled from 14,000 square kilometers (5400 square miles) of marine and estuarine areas. Overall, sample results suggest that the condition of Washington′s coastal areas was generally good, but habitats were degraded in some urban bays in Puget Sound. No surface waters had low dissolved oxygen (DO), but bottom waters had moderately low DO (2-5 mg/L) in 35% of Puget Sound and 83% of the offshore area. Bottom waters had very low DO (< 2 mg/L) in Lynch Cove (Hood Canal). Metals were found in sediments everywhere. Organic contaminants (PAHs, PCBs, DDT, pesticides) were low or not detected in most areas, except urban areas of Puget Sound (e.g., Elliott Bay, Everett Harbor) which had relatively high levels of contaminants. Metals, PCBs, and DDT were found in most fish tissues, including offshore. Nine percent of intertidal invertebrate species were non-native, but constituted 36% of the organisms. In Puget Sound and offshore areas, 1-2% of species, 0.2%-3% of organisms, were non-native. Spartina alterniflora, an invasive, non-native saltmarsh plant, was present in much of Willapa and Skagit Bays. Less than 2% of Puget Sound fish had external abnormalities, almost all being naturally-occurring parasites. No offshore fish had abnormalities. |
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This page last updated June 17, 2009
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