Salmon pollute other fish
Migrating salmon carry pollutants that contaminate other fish in freshwater spawning areas, a recent study says.
In an Alaskan lake where sockeye salmon spawn and die, Arctic grayling showed chemical levels at least four times higher than grayling in a nearby lake where salmon did not migrate.
Researchers reported they were unsure if the graylings ate dead salmon or their eggs.
The graylings’ level of chlorinated fatty acids does not threaten human health, but the long-term effects are unknown.
Scientists were also uncertain if the chemicals could build up in the pristine lake, “like how you can leave the drain open and the tub still overflows if enough water comes in,” says James J. Anderson, who studies fisheries at the University of Washing- ton.
The study, released last week, is posted on Environmental Science & Technology’s website, pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/.
-- Ashley Powers
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