The contamination of fish with chlorinated hydrocarbons in Portugal: continental coast and Azores islands

Abstract

In a baseline study, muscle and liver from important commercial fish belonging to different trophic levels were analysed for organochlorines. Samples of sole, sardine and hake were collected from seven locations off the Continental coast and greater forkbeard and horse mackerel off two Azores islands. Residues of pp'DDT, pp'DDE and PCBs were present in all muscle and liver samples. pp'DDD occurred in all liver samples and in most muscle samples, except in sole where it occurred in 29% of the samples. Dieldrin was detected less frequently and did not occur in samples from the Azores. The residue levels were generally similar to those detected in related species from the North Sea, except for samples of sole collected between the Tagus and Sado estuaries where much higher residues were obtained. In view of the low consumption of insecticides in the Azores, it is proposed that long-range transport of organochlorines by winds and/or marine currents is responsible for their presence in this area. The organochlorine residues found in these fish showed no relationship with their position in the food chain but the values did increase with the quantity of lipids present. An unknown compound analysed by GC-MS interfered with DDE quantification in one sample of greater forkbeard.

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls along an east-to-west gradient in subtropical North Atlantic surface water

“…However, the Azores region, unlike most of the east-to-west (40°–67° W) transect is in fact located in the very sea region which had historically received a major DDT load through atmospheric depositions (Stemmler and Lammel 2009 , 2013 ). This is supported by studies of marine biota in the region (Magalhães and de Barros 1987 ). These DDT depositions originated mostly from emissions in the USA, 30°–50° N, during 1955–1975 (Semeena and Lammel 2003 , 2009 ).…”

Mobility of organochlorines in muscle of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) during spawning in the Portuguese coas

“…Residues in sardines from the Adriatic Sea were considered a consequence of the high pollution by OCs in this water mass (Perugini et al 2004, Stefanelli et al 2004. The values were also considerably lower than those reported for Atlantic Iberian waters in two historical studies (Fernández andFranco 1976, Magalhães andDe Barros 1987), though the comparison is limited by different analytical procedures; however, they are comparable to concentrations obtained for the Mediterranean coast of Spain for the period 1989-1990 and included in the MEDPOL database. In time, p,p'-DDT in the environment is metabolized to p,p'-DDE.…”

“…Perugini et al (2004) recorded the levels of PCBs and DDTs in sardine from the Adriatic Sea and examined the variation in terms of biological factors and geographical distribution related to regional contamination. Two historical papers mentioned the concentrations of OCs in sardine from Iberian coastal waters (Fernández andFranco 1976, Magalhães andDe Barros 1987). Values of residues can also be obtained for specimens from the Mediterranean coast of Spain from the MEDPOL (MEDPOL 1975(MEDPOL -1973 database.…”

Biochemical and physiological modifications in tissues of Sardina pilchardus: spatial and temporal patterns as a baseline for biomonitoring studies

“…Literature on the use of S. pilchardus as an environmental sentinel has shown its contamination by anthropogenic compounds, namely metals (Canli and Atli, 2003;Cabañero et al, 2005;Falcó et al, 2006), but also polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides (Amado et al, 2006;Antunes et al, 2007;El Morsy et al, 2013). Some of these compounds, namely organochlorine pesticides, are not used in oceanic areas, and their presence in tissues of sardines captured at mid-Atlantic area (Azores Islands) demonstrates the global dispersion, and the validity of using S. pilchardus as an adequate tool to diagnose the presence of persistent anthropogenic compounds in the marine environment (Magalhães and De Barros, 1987). However, its use as a bioindicator is scarce and only a few studies have used a biomarker approach in this species-see Peters et al (1994) for biotransformation and antioxidant enzymes in larvae.…”