Jenee Colton and Jennifer Lanksbury
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Title: Reel Partnership: King County Collaborates with Refugee and Immigrant Fishers to Advance Community Health
People from immigrant and refugee communities in King County, particularly those who are low-income and have limited English proficiency, can be disproportionately impacted by contaminants when they fish from polluted locations. Though they may have some knowledge about toxics in fish, fishers often want more guidance on safer choices. In 2021, King County’s Toxicology and Contaminant Assessment (TCA) unit partnered with the Refugee Federation Service Center (RFSC) to explore contaminants in fish targeted by south King County immigrant and refugee communities. Our unit manages a long-term monitoring program that measures toxics in fish in marine and freshwaters of King County. We were interested in exploring equity by testing the typical assumptions made about the locations and species fished, and parts eaten, by local fishers. This project began with a survey to explore the fishing habits of southeast Asian and LatinX communities in King County. Among other new information, it revealed important fishing areas and species not currently tracked by our monitoring program. We used this information to design a fish sampling pilot project to 1) inform safer choices by the immigrant and refugee fishers and 2) help fill some data gaps in our monitoring program. Community fishers from the RFSC collected the fish in 2023 and samples were analyzed for a range of organic contaminants (e.g., PCBs, PBDEs, and PFAS) and mercury.
Results of the project were presented back to the RFSC communities in late 2024. We worked with the Washington Department of Health, Public Health-Seattle King County and the RFSC to develop fish consumption recommendations based on the data collected. The resulting flyer, titled Healthy Fish-Eating Recommendations from King County educates fishers about contaminants in fish and guides them towards fishing choices that will reduce their overall exposure to contaminants.
This project was TCA’s first effort to directly engage the communities of fishers we want to serve with our monitoring program. Completing this project provided us new information about how different ethnic groups in the County utilize our aquatic resources. Based on the information gained, we plan to revise the locations and fish represented in our monitoring program to make it more equitable and to provide contaminant information useful to more fishing communities in King County.
About the Speakers: Jenée Colton and Jennifer Lanksbury, King County
Jenée supervises scientists in the Toxicology and Contaminant Assessment Unit who help King County natural resource managers evaluate, prevent and remedy chemical contamination in the environment. This unit monitors toxics in freshwater and marine fish and crab as well as studies on emerging contaminants. Staff support work across the Department of Natural Resources and Parks and collaborate with local, state and tribal governments, academic researchers and non-governmental organizations to advance regional science and inform management and policy actions centered on water quality. Jenée has a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and has been addressing environmental contamination problems for over 30 years. She started the marine toxics in fish program at King County and conducted numerous environmental studies related to ambient, wastewater and stormwater contamination in academia, consulting and government before her current position. Her expertise is in toxics bioaccumulation and effects on aquatic life and evaluation of sources and pathways.
Jennifer is an Ecotoxicologist in the Toxicology and Contaminant Assessment Unit. Her research at King County is focused on assessing spatial and temporal trends of toxic contaminants in fish and shellfish tissues and sediments - especially related to stormwater quality and wastewater. She also helps evaluate ecological risks to aquatic organisms associated with exposure to contaminants. Jennifer has an MS in Environmental Science from Western Washington University and over 22 years of experience in marine ecology and ecotoxicology. Before coming to King County, Jennifer worked for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife where she helped launch the biennial Puget Sound Mussel Monitoring program to track toxic contaminants in the nearshore.
A recording of this presentation is available through The Foundation for WWU and Alumni.