Health status of red mullets from polluted areas of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, with special reference to Portmلn (SE Spain)

A suite of general physiological indicators and hepatic biomarker responses were determined in red mullet (Mullus barbatus) from priority pollution areas of W Mediterranean Sea, including the highly metal polluted area of Portmلn (Cartagena, SE Spain). Concentrations of metals and persistent organic pollutants in fish muscle tissue and sediment samples were also analysed. Our results showed that fish from Portmلn accumulated the highest concentrations of mercury, lead and arsenic and also of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls congeners. In addition, they had significantly lower condition factor, muscle lipid content and gonadosomatic index, as well as the lowest levels of DNA integrity and the highest ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in liver of the areas investigated. Contaminant body burden in fish only partly corresponded to chemical characteristics of the sediments in the areas in which they were collected. Our findings indicate that red mullets from Portmلn had suboptimal health status that warrant further study.