Elsevier

Environmental Pollution

Volume 155, Issue 1, September 2008, Pages 150-156
Environmental Pollution

Tissue distribution of organochlorine pesticides in fish collected from the Pearl River Delta, China: Implications for fishery input source and bioaccumulation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2007.10.025Get rights and content

Abstract

Fish tissues from different fishery types (freshwater farmed, seawater farmed and seawater wild) were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), with the aim to further our understanding of bioaccumulation, and reflect the state of different fishery environments. Significantly higher ∑OCP levels were found in seawater farmed fish than others, and among three freshwater farmed species, the lowest levels occurred in filter-feeding fish (bighead carp). Liver contained the highest ∑OCP levels, while no significant differences were found among other tissues. Among DDT components, p,p′-DDT was abundant in seawater fish, while for freshwater fish, p,p′-DDE was the predominant congeners, except for northern snakehead (34% for p,p′-DDE and 30% for p,p′-DDT). The new source of DDTs to freshwater fish ponds was partly attributed to dicofol, whereas sewage discharged from the Pearl River Delta and anti-fouling paint were likely the DDTs sources to seawater farmed fish.

Introduction

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), used for agriculture, structural pest control and mosquito abatement, are ubiquitous, persistent, potentially toxic and bioaccumulative in nature. As an agriculturally well developed nation, between the 1950s and 1980s, China applied 4.9 million tons of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs, including α-, β-, γ-, and δ-HCH), and 0.4 million tons of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) and chlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) (total of o,p′- and p,p′-DDT, -DDE, and -DDD is designated as DDTs), accounting for 33% and 20% of the total world production (Zhang et al., 2002). The Pearl River Delta (PRD), located in South China, has been well known for rich fishery and agricultural productions, and a large quantity of OCPs have been used in the region. Presently, fairly high levels of HCHs and DDTs are still detectable in various environmental media of the PRD (Zhou et al., 2001, Guo et al., 2007, Yu et al., in press). Previous studies suggested that new input sources of HCHs and DDTs in the PRD may partly be attributed to the current usage of dicofol and lindane (Zhou et al., 2001, Luo et al., 2004).

Fish are used extensively for environmental monitoring (Lanfranchi et al., 2006), because they uptake contaminants directly from water and diet. Generally the ability of fish to metabolize organochlorines is moderate; therefore, contaminant loading in fish is well reflective of the state of pollution in surrounding environments (Fisk et al., 1998, Lanfranchi et al., 2006). Although numerous studies have investigated the occurrence of OCPs in various compartments of the PRD, data on fish species are limited (Chan et al., 1999, Zhou and Wong, 2004, Meng et al., 2007), especially for seawater fish species. In addition, most of these studies only analyzed OCPs in fish muscle, and OCP distribution in other tissues, e.g., fish liver, skin or gills, which could provide more clues about the pathways along which OCP bioaccumulation occurs, and reflect the environmental conditions, has not been fully investigated The special circumstances surrounding the PRD, such as the climatic conditions and historical use of OCPs, provide an opportunity to investigate the bioprocesses of OCPs in fish species and examine the state of pollution in fishery environment.

The present study aimed to examine the tissue distribution of OCP levels and profiles in different fish species, which was in turn used to further our understanding of OCP bioaccumulation, reflect the state of pollution in different fish farming environments, and identify potential input sources.

Section snippets

Sample preparation and extraction

The sampling method and locations (Fig. 1) were described in a previous study (Meng et al., 2007), in which seven freshwater farmed, three seawater farmed and three seawater wild fish species (a total of 390 individuals) were analyzed. The fish samples examined in the present study were chosen from the previously collected individuals, including three freshwater farmed fish, bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi), and northern snakehead (Ophicephalus argus), one

∑OCP levels in fish tissues

The frequency of occurrence for OCPs varied with congeners, with DDTs and HCHs (except for δ-HCH) being detected in more than 70% of the samples. The occurrence frequencies were 31%, 14%, 4%, 5%, 3%, 17%, 19%, 13%, 5%, and 24% for heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehydes, α-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, endrin ketone, and methoxychlor, respectively. β-Endosulfan was not found in any samples. The concentrations of ∑OCP ranged from 1.28 to 7860 ng/g, with a mean

Conclusions

Organochlorine pesticides were determined in various tissues of different fishery types from the Peal River Delta. Significant differences of OCP levels and profiles were found both among species and among different fish tissues. Seawater farmed fish contained high ∑OCP levels and p,p′-DDT was the predominant DDT congener, whereas the ∑OCP levels were low and p,p′-DDE was dominant in most freshwater fish. Among five fish tissues, liver had the highest ∑OCP levels and contained higher DDD

Acknowledgments

This research was financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40532013 and U0633005) and the “One Hundred Talents” Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The authors thank T.S. Xiang for assistance in GC/MS analysis and B.Z. Zhang for laboratory support.

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