Pesticides and Fishes—A Review of Selected Literature

Abstract

This paper reviews selected literature on pesticide interactions in aquatic habitats, with special reference to their effects on fishes, and is hopefully an objective critique of research to date, and a projection of future needs in this field. The questions that have been asked are compared to the answers that must be provided. Factors (physical and biological) that affect toxicity are presented to define the data required for the judgment of a “safe” environmental concentration as related to LC50 (mean lethal concentration). Residue analyses give some indications of the action and effects of pesticides on fishes and their ecosystems. Analytical techniques are briefly reviewed. Research programs necessary for the detection of any sublethal damage to a population are suggested in the hope that in the near future direct mortality may not be the chief criteria of danger from pesticides.