Emerging contaminant concerns in Victorian bays and estuaries, and impacts assessment using biological monitoring

Across the state of Victoria’s 2000 km of coastline, marine and estuarine ecosystems provide recreation and amenity to a population of more than 1 million people and have a combined commercial value in excess of $9 billion... [ view full abstract ]

Across the state of Victoria’s 2000 km of coastline, marine and estuarine ecosystems provide recreation and amenity to a population of more than 1 million people and have a combined commercial value in excess of $9 billion dollars to the Victorian economy from industries such as tourism, fishing and ports operations.
Against this background, contamination is a major factor that threatens the long term productivity and value of marine and estuarine resources in Victoria. Urban contaminants reach our bays and estuaries through stormwater runoff, whilst waste water effluents and activities occurring further up in the catchment introduce a diverse array of contaminants that may cause toxicity, adversely affect ecosystem functions or make seafood unsafe for human consumption.
In this presentation I will outline some of the major sources and types of contamination affecting Victorian marine and estuarine areas, with a focus on emerging contaminants of concern including endocrine disrupting chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. I will also discuss some of the biological monitoring research that our group in the Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM) have been doing to address these issues. For example, we have been using physiological, biochemical and histological techniques in two goboid fishes, the native blue spot goby (Pseudogobius sp.) and the exotic yellowfin goby (Acanthogobius flavimanus) to identify particular estuaries of concern for fish health across the Victorian coastline. Additionally, we have conducted laboratory exposures on fish eggs and larvae, to determine what concentrations of specific chemicals cause lethal and sub-lethal developmental impacts in these sensitive life stages. This research is on-going and through the combination of contaminant measurements in water and sediments, along with biological monitoring of resident fauna and laboratory-based ecotoxicology, we are greatly increasing our understanding of how contaminants are affecting coastal waterways throughout Victoria.