Organochlorine compounds in scorpion fish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758 in the Sevastopol marine area (Black Sea): spatial distribution and biological response

Abstract

Despite the ban on the use of organochlorine compounds (OCs), they are still widely distributed in various components of the Black Sea ecosystem, including fish. Sevastopol marine area, as a region of active economic use, is a subject of significant anthropogenic impact. The levels of OCs contamination in the scorpion fish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758, which leads a sedentary life, can serve as an indicator of such impact. The organochlorine compounds were determined in 58 samples of white muscles, gonads and liver of the scorpion fish captured in 2016–2017 in the various bays of Sevastopol (Aleksandrovskaya, Balaklava, Kazach’ya, Streletskaya, Laspi), as well as in the open coastal water area (the area of the Lyubimovka village). The qualitative and quantitative analyses of organochlorine pesticides and six indicator congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls were performed by gas chromatography with a micro-electron capture detector. To determine the response of scorpion fish to the contamination level, such biochemical markers, as alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, catalase activities, albumin content, level of oxidative protein modification and malondialdehyde concentration, were studied in the liver of fish from these areas. The OCs content in fish depended on the contamination of the fish habitat. The highest OCs level is in fish organs from bays (Alexandrovskaya, Streletskaya, Balaklava), and the smallest – in the fish organs from open Laspi Bay. The accumulation of OCs in the scorpion fish organs differed according to the lipid content in their tissues. The maximum rates of OCs concentrations were in the liver of fish catch from all investigated regions, the minimum – in the gonads (from bays samples) and in the white muscles (from open areas samples). The obtained relationships between the OCs content and biochemical parameters indicate the weakening of antioxidant protection and the increasing of oxidative stress in fish as a result of the xenobiotic accumulation.