DDT, PCB and benzo( a)pyrene levels in white croaker ( Genyonemus lineatus) from southern California

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 1983-01, Vol.14 (2), p.60-65
• Main Authors: Gossett, Richard W, Puffer, Harold W, Arthur, Robert H, Young, David R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: fish; Genyonemus lineatus; Marine; pesticides; pollutants
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/0025-326X(83)90193-5

In 1978 the California Department of Fish and Game carried out a major, independent sportfishing survey in southern California. The results of that survey indicated that approximately one million angler-trip hours per year were spent fishing and that one in three fish caught was a white croaker ( Genyonemus lineatus). There was no attempt by the Department of Fish and Game to determine the disposition of caught fish. We conducted a subsequent survey in 1980 which included 12 popular sportfishing sites in the Los Angeles area. Our results also indicated that one in three fish caught was a white croaker. In addition our survey showed that 82% of the sportfishermen ate the white croaker they caught and the median consumption was 14.8 g day −1 person −1. White croaker were then sampled by hook-and-line from 11 of the 12 survey sites plus two control sites and analysed for PCB, DDT and BaP. Median PCB levels ranged from 0.014 to 0.41 mg wet kg −1; median DDT from 0.059 to 7.5 mg wet kg −1 and BaP was below detectable limits of 1 ng for all sites.