Geographic Differences in Persistent Organic Pollutant Levels of Yellowfin Tuna. 2017

Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego , La Jolla, California, USA.

Fish are a source of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the human diet. Although species, trophic level, and means of production are typically considered in predicting fish pollutant load, and thus recommendations of consumption, capture location is usually not accounted for. Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) are harvested from across the world's oceans and are widely consumed. Here, we determined geographic variation in the overall mass, concentration, and composition of POPs in yellowfin and examined the differences in levels of several POP congeners of potential relevance to human health. We sampled dorsal muscle of 117 yellowfin tuna from 12 locations worldwide, and measured POP levels using combined liquid or gas chromatography and mass spectrometry according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard procedures. POP levels varied significantly among sites, more than 36-fold on a mass basis. Individual fish levels ranged from 0.16 to 138.29 ng/g wet weight and lipid-normalized concentrations from 0.1 to 12.7 μM. Levels of 10 congeners that interfere with the cellular defense protein P-glycoprotein, termed transporter interfering compounds (TICs), ranged from 0.05 to 35.03 ng/g wet weight and from 0.03 to 3.32 μM in tuna lipid. Levels of TICs, and their individual congeners, were strongly associated with the overall POP load. Risk-based analysis of several carcinogenic POPs indicated that the fish with the highest levels of these potentially harmful compounds were clustered at specific geographic locations. Capture location is an important consideration when assessing the level and risk of human exposure to POPs through ingestion of wild fish. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP518.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014413 Tuna Common name for various species of large, vigorous ocean fishes in the family Scombridae. Tunas
D014874 Water Pollutants, Chemical Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water. Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water
D014877 Water Pollution, Chemical Adverse effect upon bodies of water (LAKES; RIVERS; seas; groundwater etc.) caused by CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTANTS. Chemical Water Pollution,Chemical Water Pollutions,Pollution, Chemical Water,Pollutions, Chemical Water,Water Pollutions, Chemical

Related Publications

Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
December 2012, Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987),
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
July 2015, Environmental research,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
May 2011, Chemosphere,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
April 2015, Environmental toxicology and chemistry,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
April 2010, Environmental toxicology and chemistry,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
September 2018, Scientific reports,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
August 2014, Environmental research,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
February 2019, International journal of environmental research and public health,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
July 1972, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. B, Comparative biochemistry,
Sascha C T Nicklisch, and Lindsay T Bonito, and Stuart Sandin, and Amro Hamdoun
March 1983, Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!