Agriculture & Food, Volume 4, 2016

Abstract: Organochlorine pesticides (DDT and its metabolites) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in four cultured fish species: gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from fish markets in Varna, Bulgaria in 2011. The species were selected regarding their importance to local human fish consumption. The purposes of the study were to investigate the presence of pollutants in cultured fish and to compare the results to the levels in wild freshwater fish species. Analysis of DDTs and PCBs were performed using gas chromatography system with mass spectrometry detection. DDTs were the predominant organochlorine contaminants in all species, with the p,p’- DDE contributing to more than 70% to the total DDTs. The sum of DDT and its metabolites was determined from 2.81 to 4.28 ng/g wet weight (in seabass and brown trout, respectively) and PCBs concentrations were found below 1.93 ng/g ww. The levels of persistent organochlorine pollutants studied in cultured fish were found lower compared to those in wild fish species from some lakes in Bulgaria.