measured PCB body burdens is acquired in es- 

 tuarine or other contaminated areas but that the 

 migratory nature of most megafauna (and/or of their 

 prey) yields the observed pattern of low body bur- 

 dens across large areas of the continental shelf. 

 Several authors have reported PCB results of a 

 broader scale and have similarly noted low-level con- 

 tamination throughout a region but no strikingly high 

 PCB values in contaminated areas or elsewhere 

 (Sims et al. 1977; McDermott-Ehrlich et al. 1978; 

 Stout 1980; Stout and Beezhold 1981; Stout et al. 

 1981). 



A condition factor could also be obscuring any ten- 

 dency offish from contaminated areas to show higher 

 PCB body burdens. PCB's have an affinity for fats, so 

 composites with a greater fat content might be 

 expected to accumulate more PCB's. The average 

 lipid content of white perch in the flesh sampled from 

 the Hudson River was 6.1% versus 1.5% from Cape 

 May. Striped bass from the Hudson River had an 

 average lipid content of 1.5%. This may account for 

 the higher PCB levels found in the flesh of white 

 perch from the estuaries of the Hudson River. If fat 

 content of the species examined is somehow inverse- 

 ly related to environmental stress, this will tend to 

 confuse any direct relationship between environ- 

 mental contamination and PCB body burdens and 

 could contribute to the observed absence of dramat- 

 ically elevated muscle burdens in targeted species. 



Conclusions 



The current proposed FDA tolerance or "action 

 level" for PCB's in foodfish is 2 ppm. The FDA 

 tolerance now being considered is 1 ppm. PCB's in 

 edible fishes remain far below existing or proposed 

 maximum permissible levels for the majority of 

 species investigated. Also, estuarine and coastal 

 regions of the world are increasingly subjected to a 

 wide range of environmental alterations. Degrada- 

 tion ensues through the action of man's activities, en- 

 ergy needs, and increasing population. Such 

 degradation may be gradual, but eventually results in 

 rivers, estuaries, and coasts with greatly depleted 

 natural resources. For example, the pollution of the 

 Hudson and Delaware Rivers in the eastern United 

 States is extremely high. Degradation of rivers on the 

 east coast with the loss of striped bass and other 

 species has already occurred. Striped bass is 

 recognized as being one of the most important anad- 

 romous and coastal commercial and recreational 

 fishes in the United States. 



The New York Bight is the ultimate repository for 

 wastes from over 20 million people as well as a host of 



major industries. Mutagens in bight waters may be 

 associated with higher than normal incidences of 

 developmental problems and mortalities in fish eggs 

 and larvae. The New York Bight Apex is also a spawn- 

 ing and nursing area for some commercial species. 

 The Hudson River valley is a conduit for New York 

 Bight Apex contaminants. Presently, there is insuffi- 

 cient information on the long-term effects of pollu- 

 tion. The first step is to recognize the present or 

 potential sources of pollutants. This should be 

 followed by intensive efforts to determine the fate 

 and effects of the pollutants over both short- and 

 long-exposure periods. Unless curtailed, pollution 

 could ultimately deplete marine resources, in- 

 cluding fisheries. 



Acknowledgments 



We thank Jeannette A. Whipple of the Southwest 

 Fisheries Center Tiburon Laboratory of the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service for providing the striped 

 bass samples and J. D. Petty of the U.S. Department 

 of Interior, Columbia National Fisheries Research 

 Laboratory, Columbia, Mo., for the carp sample. 



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