Mercury Concentrations in Resident Lake Fish Sampled from Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (2019 and 2020) and Katmai National Park and Preserve (2021) — Data Package
Bartz KK , Gabriel PW , Young DB . 2026. Mercury Concentrations in Resident Lake Fish Sampled from Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (2019 and 2020) and Katmai National Park and Preserve (2021) — Data Package. National Park Service. Fort Collins CO. https://doi.org/10.57830/2320208
These data were collected as part of the Southwest Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network (SWAN) freshwater contaminants protocol. The protocol outlines a framework for monitoring mercury (Hg) concentrations in resident lake fish within SWAN parks. The primary goal of this monitoring is to understand the spatial differences, temporal trends, and health ramifications of Hg contamination in resident lake fish. Monitoring relies on total Hg in fish axial muscle as an indicator of methyl Hg exposure. It targets four high-priority lakes which vary in size, depth, wetland cover, glacial influence, and Hg concentration. These lakes are in Katmai National Park and Preserve (KATM). The focal species is lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), a widespread, long lived, top predator in SWAN lakes. However, if other species are sampled as bycatch, they may be retained and analyzed if they represent species-specific data gaps in Hg concentration. Two broad types of data are generated from this protocol. The first type includes observations and measurements that are recorded while sampling and processing fish (e.g., length, weight, sex). The second type includes results of analyses performed by contract laboratories (e.g., age, total Hg). The purpose of this monitoring is to understand the spatial differences, temporal trends, and health ramifications of Hg contamination in resident lake fish from parks in southwest Alaska. Three objectives will be addressed by this monitoring: 1. assess spatial differences in Hg contamination of resident lake fish, among lakes; 2. evaluate temporal trends in Hg contamination of resident lake fish, within lakes; and 3. identify lakes where Hg contamination of resident lake fish may pose a risk to humans and top predator piscivores by surpassing relevant toxicological benchmarks.
- Type
- Data Package
- Authors
- Bartz, Krista; Gabriel, Paul; Young, Dan
- Date of Issue
- 2026-09-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.57830/2320208
- Units
- KATM , LACL
- Keywords
- Biota, Fishes, Mercury, Resident lake fish, Stable isotopes
- License
- Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal