The Impact of Tributyl Tin (TBT) Antifouling Paints on Molluscan Fisheries

Abstract

Laboratory and field experiments carried out during 1982–84 confirmed that some UK estuaries contained sufficient organotin compounds to cause reduced meat yields and shell thickening in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Historically the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, has been the basis of an important fishery on the east coast of England but the population has recently declined to an all-time low. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to compare larval survival, growth of spat and the development of gametes in adult O. edulis, and the growth of spat of four other bivalve species in the presence and absence of organotin toxins. The results from these experiments are discussed in relation to the concentrations of organotin compounds in samples of water and oyster tissues, from several sites in the UK, and the reproductive behaviour of adult oysters from natural stocks in the Crouch/Roach estuary system. The data strongly suggest that TBT is at least a contributory factor and probably a major cause of the failure in recent years of O. edulis to reproduce naturally in the Crouch Estuary. The UK Government has proposed legislation to control and reduce organotin emissions into the marine environment and this is briefly outlined.