Data Management Plan

In order to determine the current status of and to detect any long-term trends in the environmental quality of U.S. nearshore waters, NOAA initiated the National Status and Trends program in 1984 with its National Benthic Surveillance Project. The primary objective of the Benthic Surveillance Project was to quantify concentrations of a suite of organic and inorganic contaminants in the livers of fish and surficial sediments from selected sites in the coastal and estuarine waters of the United States. In addition, the levels of certain indicators of the biological effects of these contaminants were measured. Incidences of visible lesions, including fin erosion, have been noted and histopathological examinations of various tissues have been carried out. Originally histopathological examinations determined the prevalence of any identifiable disease conditions in samples of liver, kidney, and gill tissue. Beginning in 1987 examinations became more focused on determining the prevalence of necrotic and proliferative lesions in the liver.

Process Steps:

• 1992-01-01 00:00:00 - Benthic marine fish samples were collected for pathology, trace metal analysis and for traces of organic contamination. Additional data were collected at the sampling sites, including salinity, temperature, and sediment for grain size and chemical analysis. The primary collection apparatus was Otter trawls. Occasionally, along the Southeast and Gulf Coasts, fish were taken with hook and line, or with gill nets. These alternate collection methods were necessary because larger fish, such as older Atlantic croaker, were able to avoid an Otter trawl, or were found in untrawlable habitats such as shallow water, along marsh edges, and over oyster reefs. Fish in the correct size range were dissected in the onboard laboratory immediately after collection. This ensured that a determination could be made regarding whether sufficient material had been collected and whether the sample material was of high quality. If either one of these criteria was not met, the opportunity existed to continue sample collection.Because most fish were dissected onboard ship, a special effort was made to develop an environment as close to clean-room conditions as possible. All fish were dissected in positive pressure laminar flow hoods. Air was drawn into the laminar flow hood from above and filtered by a high efficiency particle attenuator (HEPA) filter before it passed over the fish samples. Stainless steel tools were used to dissect fish for organic analysis. Titanium tools were used to dissect fish for trace metal analyses because tools made of this element do not pose the problem of introducing nickel, chromium, and/or iron into the specimens to be analyzed. Specimens were analyzed for the latter three elements by the NSandT Program. After knives had been sharpened, and before dissections began at a new site or of a new species, the dissection equipment was thoroughly cleaned with detergent solution, rinsed extensively with tap water, rinsed in distilled or high-purity water (i.e., milli-Q or HPLC-grade water), rinsed with isopropanol under a fume hood, followed by a rinse with distilled water, and placed on a similarly cleaned Teflon cutting board that was allowed to air-dry in the laminar-flow hood. Between individual fish of the same species at the same site, the tools were rinsed with distilled water before any fluid or tissue had a chance to dry on the knife. Sexually mature fish were primarily used in this program, determined by size of each species. Once sampling in a certain geographic area is initiated, repeat sampling occurs during the same time frame. Northeast samples (Chesapeake Bay through Maine) have been collected during March and April. Southeast samples have been collected from August to October. Gulf Coast samples have been collected from August to October. West Coast samples have been taken from May through July. Alaska samples have been taken from May to August. The collection of fish was not directly tied to their spawning cycle, though different age classes may be found in certain estuaries during different times of the year. Samples were collected directly from NOAA ships or from small boats launched from NOAA ships, or on occasion from chartered vessels or ships-of-opportunity.Process Date Range is 1984 - 1992