Effect of agricultural activity on levels of organochlorine pesticides in hard corals, fish and molluscs from the Great Barrier Reef |
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| Authors: | R W Olafson |
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| Institution: | Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville, Cape Ferguson, Queensland, Australia |
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| Abstract: | An organochlorine baseline study of selected corals, fish and molluscs has established that lindane is the only consistently detectable persistent pesticide in Great Barrier Reef organisms sampled. Samples taken during 1976–1977 from twenty reefs between Heron Island and Lizard Island provide evidence from the distribution of lindane that the contamination is related to agricultural usage in the coastal sugar cane growing regions. Consideration is given to the possible mode of transport of lindane to the reef environment. No polychlorinated biphenyls were detected in any of the samples and only scattered samples contained levels of residues other than lindane. Inner marginal shelf reefs of the Great Barrier Reef may be the most pristine environment yet reported for organochlorine pollutants. |
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