Domestic waste and TBT pollution in coastal areas of Ambon Island (Eastern Indonesia)

Coastal areas of the island of Ambon (eastern Indonesia), but especially Ambon Bay, were polluted by domestic waste. There was severe beach litter pollution and contamination of inshore waters. High incidences of the isopod ectoparasite Renocila sp. on the coral reef fish Abudefduf saxatilis were probably indirect consequences of pollution stress. Symptoms of imposex, presumably caused by tributyltin compounds leaching from the anti-fouling paints used on boat hulls, were severe in some whelk populations in Ambon Bay but were mild or absent from populations elsewhere on the island