Environmentally Induced Endocrine Abnormalities in Fish

The organochlorine pesticides, which were of greatest concern to Carson, were 

Issues in Environmental Seienee and Teehnology No. 12 Endoerine Disrupting Chemieals The Royal Soeiety of Chemistry, 1999 

For convenience, anthropogenic pollutants can be divided into three classes heavy metals, pesticides and industrial chemicals. 

Measurement of contaminants in fish has concentrated on muscle tissue since the aim has generally been to protect the health of the consumer rather than that of the fish. Endocrine tissue such as the gonads has been much more rarely examined, while data for adrenal, thyroid and pituitary levels are virtually non-existent. More data are available for the liver, as a lipid rich tissue and the major site of xenobiotic catabolism, but the concentrations have rarely been related to its capacity to produce vitellogenin or metabolise endogenous hormones. Tissue concentrations of a wide range of chemicals, are at a level which suggests that, either alone or in combination, they will cause significant endocrine disruption in fish in many polluted habitats. 

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