ORGANOCHLORINE RESIDUES IN FISHES FROM 

 THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN AND GULF OF MEXICO 



Virginia F. Stouts 



ABSTRACT 



Residues of SDDT (p,p -DDT and its metabolites p,p -TDE and p,p -DDE), PCB (polychlorinated 

 biphenyls), dieldrin, and endrin were determined in the flesh of 700 specimens of fishes caught between 

 1973 and 1975 in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean and northern Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of the 

 southeastern United States. Species with lowest oil content (<3%) — gag, Mycteroperca microlepis; 

 black grouper, M. bonaci; red grouper, Epinephelus morio; and red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus — 

 contained the least amounts of chlorinated hydrocarbon residues. Species with higher oil content — 

 king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla, (3.5%) and Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus, (4.6%) — more 

 consistently contained residues, but still at low levels. Significant correlations (P<0.05) were found in 

 red snapper and king mackerel between lipid and size and between lipid and chlorinated hydrocarbon 

 content. The correlations between lipid and PCB in gag and between lipid and DDT in black grouper 

 were also significant. The highest mean values for any species were 0.18 ppm SDDT, 0.32 ppm PCB, 

 0.007 ppm dieldrin, and 0.008 ppm endrin. The highest level in any one composite sample of 10 fish was 

 1.0 ppm IDDT, 1.8 ppm PCB, 0.026 ppm dieldrin, and 0.026 ppm endrin. 



Haifa century ago manufacturers of surface coat- 

 ings and of electrical equipment found a common 

 interest in a newly introduced group of or- 

 ganochlorine chemicals, the PCB.^ These com- 

 pounds dissolve the inks in carbonless carbon 

 paper, which duplicates without the use of carbon 

 paper. They plasticize the waterproof coatings for 

 dairy silos and fish tanks, and marine antifouling 

 paint. The thermal and electrical properties of 

 PCB are highly desirable in dielectric fluids, the 

 electrical insulators in transformers and 

 capacitors. The PCB are also highly resistant to 

 chemical and biological degradation, and these 

 properties, too, are valued by industrial users. 



Immediately following World War II, another 

 organ ochlorine chemical, DDT, became the magic 

 tool of the medical profession, deeply concerned 

 with preventing outbreaks of infectious, insect- 

 borne diseases. Enormous quantities of DDT were 

 used to prevent epidemics of typhus and plague in 

 war-torn Europe. DDT was dramatically effective 

 in controlling lice and fleas, which carried these 



'Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center Utilization Research 

 Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 2725 

 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA 98112. 



^Abbreviations used in this manuscript: DDE = p,p'-di- 

 chlorodiphenyldichloroethylene; DDMU = p,p'-dichlorodi- 

 phenylchloroethylene; DDT = p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl- 

 trichloroethane; PCB = polychlorinated biphenyls; I DDT = 

 DDT and its metabolites DDE and TDE; TDE = p,p'- 

 dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane. 



Manuscript accepted August 1979. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 78, NO. 1, 1980. 



diseases. The use of this and related compounds 

 spread rapidly for mosquito and agricultural pest 

 control. Before insect resistance developed, DDT 

 reduced the incidence of malaria to a very low 

 level. 



Since PCB and the organochlorine pesticides 

 are not only stable but also easily dispersed in the 

 air and through the water, it is not surprising in 

 retrospect that they are now found even in the 

 polar regions (Sladen et al. 1966; Risebrough et al. 

 1976; Bowes and Jonkel 1975) and that chlori- 

 nated hydrocarbon pollution has become a 

 worldwide problem. Not until the 1960's did ap- 

 preciation of the adverse effects of these chlori- 

 nated hydrocarbons begin to develop. "Silent 

 Spring" (Carson 1962) described the effects on the 

 environment of the accumulation of DDT, and 

 Jensen (Anonymous 1966; Jensen et al. 1969) 

 found PCB in marine animals. Burdick et al. 

 (1964) noted reproductive failure in lake trout 

 when the eggs contained a high level of SDDT. 

 Aulerich et al. (1973) traced the reproductive fail- 

 ure and mortality in ranch-grown mink back to 

 coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, from Lake 

 Michigan and ultimately to the PCB they con- 

 tained. Only recently fin erosion, a disease 

 associated with municipal and industrial dis- 

 charges, was related to iDDT (Mearns and Sher- 

 wood 1977). Montrose Chemical Company re- 

 leased wastes from DDT manufacture directly into 



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