Research Product

Evidence for the accumulation of pesticides in aquatic ecosystems is abundant. Nontarget species such as fishes from salt and fresh water have been monitored for pesticide contamination. Certain pesticides, e.g., organochlorines and their metabolites, accumulate in wild fish, particularly in liver and fatty tissues. Results of controlled laboratory exposures of fishes to pesticides and related chemicals reveal that the liver is often the organ with highest pesticide concentrations, and greatest damage or impairment. This information, combined with the general knowledge that the liver of vertebrates is a chief metabolic and detoxication organ, suggests that a review of the histopathology of the livers of fishes in reference to pesticide exposure would be of value.