Risk Assessment of Residual DDTs in Freshwater and Marine Fish Cultivated Around the Pearl River Delta, China

Abstract

Six species of freshwater fish collected from 10 fishponds in Shunde and Zhongshan, China, four species of marine fishes collected from different mariculture farms [four in Hong Kong (Tung Lung Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kat O) and two in mainland China (Daya Bay and Shenzhen)] together with feed (both trash fish and commercial pellets) and sediment were analyzed for DDTs. Total DDTs in freshwater fish flesh decreased in the order of: carnivores [1742 microg/kg lipid weight (l.w.)] > herbivores (165 microg/kg, l.w.) > omnivores (42.5 microg/kg, l.w.), with the highest concentration detected in mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) (2641 microg/kg, l.w.). For marine fish, snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) and orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) collected in Ma Wan contained elevated levels of total DDTs (2590 and 2034 microg/kg l.w., respectively). Trash fish used in both freshwater and marine fish farms contained significantly higher levels (86.5-641 microg/kg l.w.) (p < 0.05) of DDTs than in commercial pellets, but correlations between DDT levels in fish feed and muscle were not significant. The elevated biota-sediment accumulating factor for tilapia (Tilapia mossambicus) (24.1) indicated that accumulation of DDTs from sediment to the fish was evident. It can be concluded that trash fish should not be used for fish culture in order to lower the level of residual DDTs in fish muscle.

Geographical distribution and risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants in golden threads (Nemipterus virgatus) from the northern South China Sea

“…p,p 0 -DDE was the predominant component of DDTs in all samples from the six sampling sites of the northern SCS. This result was consistent with some previous studies (Storelli et al 2008;Leung et al 2010). o,p 0 -DDT was not detected in samples from Xiamen and Sanya, and only few o,p 0 -DDD existed in the muscle of golden threads from Shantou, Yangjiang, Beibu Gulf and Haikou.…”

Assessment of tissue-specific accumulation, elimination and toxic effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) in carp through aquatic food web

“…relative to omnivores (42.5 lg/kg, l.w.) 21 . In the control group, the DDTs concentrations in carp (Fig.…”

Aquatic biota as potential biological indicators of the contamination, bioaccumulation and health risks caused by organochlorine pesticides in a large, shallow Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu)

“…Mid-range values were observed in medium-sized herbivorous fish species (M. amblycephala). It has been suggested that bottom-dwelling omnivorous species that feed on suspended solids and/or sediments, such as molluscs (C. chinensis) and mud carp (C. carpio), may accumulate greater concentrations of contaminants (Zhou et al, 1998;Zhou and Wong, 2000;Leung et al, 2010;Kwok et al, 2013) and that species that feed on algae and zooplankton, such as P. hyalocranius and shrimp (L. modestus), may accumulate contaminants to a lesser degree (Zhou and Wong, 2000).…”