Abstract
The spotted sand bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus) is an important recreational sport and subsistence food fish within San Diego Bay, a large industrialized harbor in San Diego, California. Despite this importance, few studies examining the species life history relative to pollutant tissue concentrations and the consumptive fishery exist. This study utilized data from three independent spotted sand bass studies from 1989 to 2002 to investigate PCB, DDT, and mercury tissue concentrations relative to spotted sand bass age and growth in San Diego Bay, with subsequent comparisons to published pollutant advisory levels and fishery regulations for recreational and subsistence consumption of the species. Subsequent analysis focused on examining temporal and spatial differences for different regions of San Diego Bay.Study results for growth confirmed previous work, finding the species to exhibit highly asymptotic growth, making tissue pollutant concentrations at initial take size difficult if not impossible to predict. This was corroborated by independent tissue concentration results for mercury, which found no relationship between fish size and pollutant bioaccumulation observed. However, a positive though highly variable relationship was observed between fish size and PCB tissue concentration.Despite these findings, a significant proportion of fish exhibited pollutant levels above recommended state recreational angler consumption advisory levels for PCBs and mercury, especially for fish above the minimum take size, making the necessity of at-size predictions less critical. Lastly, no difference in tissue concentration was found temporally or spatially within San Diego Bay.
Highlights
The spotted sand bass (Serranidae) is one of three temperate Paralabrax basses in southern California that are target species for recreational and subsistence anglers (California Department of Fish and Game, 2004; Erisman et al, 2011)
Bioaccumulation No relationship was found between composite fish weight or total length and pollutant concentration for mercury or DDTs (Fig. 2)
Subsequent MANOVAs were attempted for mercury, body-size adjusted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and DDTs, with no differences found between ecoregions or between the 1989 and 1999–2002 time periods
Summary
Prior to the implementation of the Clean Water Act, waste discharges were released directly to the bay, without treatment, from factories, power stations, industrial plants, and shipbuilding operations (Terzich, 1965). These untreated discharges resulted in anoxic conditions, in areas of the inner bay with high residence times The entire bay is currently listed on the Clean Water Act section 303(d) list as impaired for PCBs (SDRWQCB, 2012) These pollutants have been found to be bioavailable and bioaccumulate within various organismal trophic levels in San Diego Bay (Deheyn & Latz, 2006; Komoroske et al, 2011; Komoroske et al, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
