Organochlorine residues in fish and fishery products from the Northwest Atlantic

PCB concentrations in shrimp from major import markets and the United States

“…Despite these limitations, our findings in general are consistent with other recently reported results. For example, in 1977 Sims et al [40] reported wet weight total PCB levels of 14 to 1,000 ng/g in Canadian wild shrimp, whereas in the present study wet weight total PCB levels in wild shrimp ranged from 0.11 to 2.40 ng/g. Similar to the findings presented here, most of the lipid-adjusted levels ranged from 10 to 800 ng/g, although some samples collected in Belgium [39] and Thailand [16] contained total PCB levels greater than 1,000 ng/g lw.…”

“…Regard-less, the results of the present study were generally far lower than values published 20 to 30 years ago. For example, in 1977 Sims et al [40] reported wet weight total PCB levels of 14 to 1,000 ng/g in Canadian wild shrimp, whereas in the present study wet weight total PCB levels in wild shrimp ranged from 0.11 to 2.40 ng/g. Similarly, Roose et al [41] reported a mean lipid-adjusted value of 402 ng/g in wild shrimp collected between 1984 and 1993 in the Belgian continental shelf, almost 10 times the median value measured in wild shrimp in the present study (45.7 ng/g lw).…”

Organochlorine insecticide residues in deep sea fish from 2500 m in the Atlantic Ocean

“…Organochlorine residues in cod livers from the Atlantic coast of Canada determined by Sims et al (16,17) had a mean concentration of total DDT residues of 5.6 mg/wet kg compared with the mean concentration in the livers of Antimora rostrata of 7.05 mg/wet kg. The similarity of the mean concentrations is striking, since the cod inhabit relatively shallow continental shelf waters.…”

Trophic Transfer and Biomagnification Potential of Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems

“…This study was the only PCB field study found where all organisms were collected at the same time and location and tissue burdens were expressed as dry weights. Sims et al (1977) found no evidence of biomagnification of PCBs in a northwest Atlantic Ocean food web consisting of fish, shrimp, clams, lobster, mussels, and crabs. Pelagic fish species, such as tuna, contained, on average, higher tissue levels than cod, crustaceans (e.g., crab), and bivalves (e.g., mussels).…”

“…Nisbet and Sarofim (1972) found little evidence supporting biomagnification of DDT in a marine food web (zooplankton-mussel-Iobster-herring-whitingcod) in the Irish Sea and Firth of Clyde, Scotland. No food-chain biomagnification of DDT was observed in food webs of the northwest Atlantic Ocean (Sims et al 1977) and Arctic Ocean (Hargrave et al 1992). However, Oliver and Niimi (1985) used bioconcentration factor (BCF) residues in fish to predict biomagnification.…”