Review of the marine environment and biota of Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait
Proceedings of the BC/Washington Symposium on the Marine Environment, January 13 and 14, 1994
Abstract
This report includes the text and discussion highlights of presentations at the British Columbia/Washington Symposium on the Marine Environment, held in Vancouver, BC on January 13 and 14, 1994. The symposium was organized by the BC/Washington Environmental Cooperation Council to help the BC/Washington Marine Science Panel prepare a report for the Council on marine environmental quality in the boundary region. The Panel's report to Council is published separately.
The symposium brought together key presentations on status, quality and trends in the physical and chemical environment and biota of the coastal marine ecosystem shared by Canada and the USA. Geographic areas included are Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and Juan de Fuca Strait. Topics included in this report are: loading of pollutants from industrial, municipal and non-point sources; estuarine circulation, hydography, currents and ocean model results; contaminant concentrations in sediments, shellfish and fish; sublethal effects of contaminants on fish; potential human health implications of consuming contaminated fish from boundary areas; nutrient and eutrophication; algal toxins and the problems due to toxic algal blooms; the status of marine and intertidal benthos and the use of benthos to indicate ecosystem health; the influences of fisheries, changes in the physical environment, and pollution on abundance and distribution of commercially harvested species of invertebrates, shellfish and fish; the status and ecology of seabird and marine mammal populations; and the loss of marsh and other types of shore-zone habitat. Also included is the text of a presentation by the BC Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks about priorities for government action, particularly on oil spills.
The symposium was focused around six questions related to the sustainability of development around the shared waters of the Georgia Depression, and the projected impact of population growth. Further infurmation about the symposium is contained in the introduction of this report.
Keywords
algae, benthos, bird, bloom, British Columbia, contaminant, effect, fish, groundfish, habitat, herring, human health, Juan de Fuca Strait, marine, marine mammal, nutrient, oceanography, plankton, pollution, Puget Sound, salmon, seabird, sediment, shellfish, Strait of Georgia, sustainable development, toxic, Washington, wetland.
Citation
Wilson, R.C.H., R.J. Beamish, Fran Aitkens and J. Bell [eds.]. 1994. Review of the marine environment and biota of Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait: Proceedings of the BC/Washington Symposium on the Marine Environment, January 13 & 14, 1994. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1948: 398 p.
