Search

The article studies non-, mono-, and di-o-chlorobiphenyl concentrations and their toxic equivalents to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo[ p]dioxin in Aroclors® and digestive glands from American lobster captured in Atlantic Canada by researchers from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Polychlorinated biphenyls are contaminants of concern in coastal marine fisheries. Much of their toxicity is associated with chlorobiphenyls that can assume a planar configuration. Contamination of lobsters by the aromatic organics that require mixed function oxidase for their metabolism and ultimate excretion is particularly worrisome because lobsters do not appear capable of metabolizing such compounds.

Differences observed in autoradiogram profiles and isotope ratios of corticosteroid metabolites (such as cortisol), in vitro, in interrenal activity between and within hatchery reared salmon (Salmo salar) parr stocks were not observed in corresponding wild stocks. Wild fish from nine Nova Scotian rivers (Annapolis, Black, East, Gold, LaHave, Medway. Mushamush, Salmon, and Stewiacke Rivers), sampled during May to December all showed similar corticosteroid profiles. Differences were observed in corticosteroid profiles in December between: (1) hatchery stock held in acidic and circumneutral rivers; and (2) hatchery stock held in cages in a limited river, wild stock from this river, and hatchery stock maintained at the hatchery.