Table 3. Synopsis of biological indicators of pollution measured in crabs 
and fish in Puget Sound. 
Biological Group 
Type of Measurement 
Where Observed 
Dungeness crab 
Necrosis of hepato- 
pancreas 
Parts of: Tacoma Waterways, 
Duwamish 
English sole 
High prevalences of 
liver lesions among 
adults 
Parts of: some Tacoma Waterways, 
Eagle Harbor, Everett Harbor, 
Duwamish, Elliott Bay, off the 
Ruston shore 
High concentrations 
of PAH metabolites 
in bile 
Parts of: Duwamish, Eagle 
Harbor, off Clinton, Everett 
Harbor 
High hepatic aryl 
hydrocarbon hydroxy¬ 
lase activity 
Eagle Harbor, Duwamish 
High prevalences of 
sister chromatid 
exchanges in kidney 
cells 
Duwamish 
Lower gonadosomatic 
index, lower propor¬ 
tion of females 
completing vitel¬ 
logenesis, lower 
fertilization success 
and lower percent 
viable hatch 
Eagle Harbor, Duwamish 
Elliott Bay. However, an opposite trend was observed with midgut necrosis 
in crabs: about 5% prevalence in the Commencement Bay Waterways, about 
10% in the Duwamish and nearly 20% in Elliott Bay. A very small sampling 
of crabs caught in various rural reference areas had no signs of these 
disorders. 
Fish bile analyses . Analyses of the bile of fish have been performed to 
determine the concentrations of the metabolites of polynuclear aromatic 
hydrocarbons that the fish are excreting. These metabolites are not 
accumulated in the tissues of the fish, and though they may be harmful to 
the fish, the analytical chemists normally miss them in their routine 
analyses. Another biochemical test of the exposure of fish to 
37 
