Human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in the marine environment including fish farms in Korea

Abstract

The occurrence trends and effects of 30 human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anthelmintics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and β-blockers, in the marine environment, with a focus on seawater, sediment, cultured fish, and their feed collected from coastal and fish farm areas in the southern sea of Korea, were investigated. The concentrations of total pharmaceuticals in coastal area seawater (mean: 533ng/L) were higher than those in fish farm seawater (mean: 300ng/L), while the opposite trend (coastal area: 136ng/gdrywt<fish farm area; 195ng/gdrywt) was observed for sediment samples. Regarding cultured fish, the concentration of total pharmaceuticals in fish muscle (mean: 5.08ng/gwetwt) was lower than that in organs (mean: 14.1ng/gwetwt). However, not all compounds were present at higher concentrations in organs. Characteristic distribution patterns of pharmaceuticals were observed according to sample types and sampling sites based on the predominance of various antibiotics in fish farms (including cultured fish and feed) and the predominance of pharmaceuticals of terrestrial origin (human and livestock) in coastal areas. Pharmaceuticals used as fish drugs, such as sulfadiazine, erythromycin, and trimethoprim, were commonly detected in fish farm media (seawater, sediment, and cultured fish), which might contaminate fish farm media.