Abstract-Estrogenic discharges are known or suspected to be present in many United Kingdom estuaries and are also occurring from offshore oil and gas installations. The aim of this study was to establish whether estrogens and their mimics are present in marine waters at concentrations that can produce biological responses in fish and, if so, to discover whether the effects are likely to be harmful to populations and communities through changes in reproductive and other physiological processes. Laboratory studies and extensive field surveys were carried out with the euryhaline flounder (Platichthys flesus), using the amount of yolk protein vitellogenin in the blood of free-living male fish as an indicator of exposure to estrogens. Exposure to the synthetic estrogen ethynylestradiol for 3 weeks confirmed that the vitellogenin response was made and showed that this species is about one order of magnitude less sensitive than the freshwater species rainbow trout. The fish did not respond to the estrogen mimic nonylphenol at concentrations of 30 g/L. Wild male flounder were sampled from four contaminated United Kingdom estuaries: the Tyne, Crouch, Thames, and Mersey. Fish from one or more sites in each estuary had significantly elevated concentrations of vitellogenin in their blood when compared to concentrations in fish from the clean control estuary (Alde River). Vitellogenin concentrations in the Tyne and Mersey fish were four and six orders of magnitude greater, respectively, than control concentrations. Elevated vitellogenin concentrations were also seen in some male flounder caught in coastal areas. Approximately 20% of male fish from the Mersey estuary contained oocytes in their testes, but this intersex condition was not seen elsewhere. The implications of these findings for fish populations are discussed.

Plasma vitellogenin (VTG) concentrations and the presence of the ovo-testis (intersex) condition have been recorded in male flounder (Platichthys flesus) captured from several United Kingdom (UK) estuaries since 1996 as part of the endocrine disruption in the Marine Environment (EDMAR) project and earlier programs. It has been confirmed that plasma VTG concentrations in male flounder have remained elevated in several UK estuaries (e.g., Tees, Mersey, and Tyne) throughout the period covered by this study. However, the time-series data indicate that plasma VTG, a measure of environmental estrogen contamination, has decreased in fish captured from several estuaries, especially those of the Tyne and Mersey. Shorter time-series data sets from the Forth and Clyde estuaries also suggest a decrease in estrogen contamination at these sites. Trends associated with specific point sources of estrogenic contamination show site-specific patterns. For instance, plasma VTG levels in male flounder captured near the Howdon sewage treatment outfall (Tyne) have shown a steady decline to near baseline levels in 2001, while the plasma of male fish captured at a site adjacent to the Dabholm Gut discharge in the Tees estuary have shown little evidence of a sustained decline. The occurrence of the intersex condition was detected at a low but consistent prevalence through the study period, with the majority of cases recorded in fish captured from the Tyne and Mersey estuaries. The data set does not allow conclusions to be drawn about any temporal trends associated with this condition. The significance of the findings and possible mitigating influences are discussed in terms of the impacts on wild fish and the role of effluent treatment in reducing these.

There is a bewildering array of fish parasites and probably all fish species harbour one or more species. Under normal conditions hosts often show little or no signs of infection, either clinically or at the organ and tissue level. All tissues can be infected, including the blood. Coelozoic species generally do not elicit significant host responses. Any developmental stages, however, where these migrate through the host tissues may produce a cellular response if resident for sufficient time. Histozoic parasites are generally more likely to evoke a pathological response since they are invariably in more intimate contact with immunocompetent host cells such as lymphocytes and phagocytes. In some cases, particularly with protistan infections, host response can be dramatic and cause significant disease due to organ dysfunction, with subsequent mortalities. Infections of the external epithelia caused by a variety of parasites including Monogenea and Copepoda are also significant, especially when large numbers are present. Resulting tissue necrosis compromises osmoregulation and facilitates entry of prokaryote infections. Parasites have numerous strategies to evade detection within the host, but even ‘protected’ intracellular forms, e.g. microsporeans and muscle‐invading myxozoans are recognized when they outgrow their accommodation or large cysts rupture, presenting parasite antigens to the host. In most instances, an evolutionary balance has been achieved between the host and the parasite and even when histopathology is evident, this is frequently localized and does not unduly impair performance of the affected organ. Examples include chronic inflammation, granuloma formation and focal fibrosis. This paper outlines the principle histopathological responses to a variety of parasite groups and provides a more detailed treatment of selected parasitic infections in marine and freshwater fish species to illustrate the relative importance of acute and chronic parasitic infections for host survival.

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