“…PAHs, individually or expressed as total concentration (dissolved / dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons -DDPH), have been reported in water and sediments from many Brazilian estuaries and bays (e.g., Todos os Santos Bay by Venturini and Tommasi, 2004; Patos Lagoon by Medeiros et al, Zanardi-Lamardo and Schettini 2005; Guanabara Bay by Silva et al, 2007;Cocó and Ceará estuaries by Cavalcante et al, 2009;Santos Estuary by Martins et al, 2011;Arruda-Santos et al, 2018). Assessments were also made near oil industry hotspots as harbors (São Sebastião channel by Zanardi et al, 1999a;b;Silva and Bícego, 2010;Lemos et al, 2014;Maciel et al, 2015a;Zanardi-Lamardo et al, 2018) and offshore extraction zones (Potiguar basin by Wagener et al, 2011) or open waters (South West Atlantic waters, Bícego et al, 2002). This study presents the very first assessment on dissolved / dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons (DDPH) on the eastern sector of the Brazilian Northeast region, off Pernambuco State in open waters on the continental shelf.…”