Xenobiotics in fish; uses of fish and fisherman monitoring data for public policy and public health decisions

In New Jersey the Office of Science and Research (OSR) within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been collecting and analyzing fish for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and selected organochloride pesticides for the past seven years. The impetus for this effort was the findings of extensive environmental contamination by PCBs in the Hudson River to the north of New Jersey and Kepone in the James River and Chesapeake Bay area to the south. The program objectives were much more aligned with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) than the other regulatory agencies. In keeping with this objective, it was decided to analyze only edible fillets of all fish caught, assuming that this would be a more appropriate indicator of health risk to New Jersey's consumers. This paper will present the data associated with these bioaccumulation studies and the preliminary results from attempts to bridge the environmental sciences with the social sciences through the fisherman study and its implications for future public policy concerning the education of the consumer, public-health risk and resource utilization.Paper Presented At: 7th International Estuarine Research Conference Environmental Health Section 22-26 October, 1983 Virginia Beach, VirginiaPurpose: To bridge bioaccumulation studies of PCBs with social science of fisherman studies