A review of marine environmental contaminant issues in the North Pacific: The dangers and how to identify them

Abstract

Chemical contaminants in the North Pacific Ocean include hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, metals, persistent solids, and domestic pollutants. Here, we review contaminant research conducted over the past decade, finding that the effects of contaminants cannot be considered in isolation from other major factors causing change to North Pacific ecosystems. Climate change, over-fishing, habitat destruction, eutrophication, and the introduction of exotic species interact with one another and alter contaminant pathways. Climate change and over-fishing are perceived as the main threats to the remote northern marginal seas, the central North Pacific, and the west coast of North America, with contaminants engendering local concern, especially in semi-enclosed bodies of water. Climate change receives less attention in Asian waters, probably because widespread habitat destruction and contamination provide, by themselves, an impending ecological disaster. A systematic approach is urgently required to recognize and prioritize the threats to North Pacific coastal ecosystems. This should include box models, case studies, proxy records, and time series. The ocean should be monitored as a system, including physical media (water, sediment) and the full trophic range of the food web, and tissues should be preserved in archives to provide a resource for understanding emerging concerns. Finally, the development of ecological indicators is urgently required to provide a robust warning system based on the health of the marine ecosystems themselves. It is time to conduct a multi-national assessment of the North Pacific Ocean to develop a common, factual awareness of the threats looming over our coastal waters. Key words: contaminants, climate change, ecosystem change, monitoring, North Pacific, trends.