Discrimination d'un stock de poisson, l'anguille (Anguilla rostrata), basée sur la présence d'un produit chimique de synthèse, le mirex

Abstract

Mirex concentrations were measured in eels (Anguilla rostrata) from eastern Canada to determine the contribution of Lake Ontario eels to the Saint Lawrence commercial fishery. Mirex could be detected in all eels (50 specimens) collected in Lake Ontario (0.18 ± 0.11 μg∙g−1). Most sedentary eels collected from the Saint Lawrence commercial fishery and both the migratory and sedentary eels collected from the Saint Lawrence tributaries and the Maritimes had no mirex. Of the migrating eels collected in the Saint Lawrence 74% contained mirex (0.17 ± 0.19 μg∙g−1). These results show that stocks can be discriminated on the basis of the presence of synthetic chemical products such as pesticides and other contaminants that are distributed heterogeneously in the environment. Based on a presence–absence criterion, this method for stock discrimination has the distinct advantage that it is more accurate and less time consuming than similar methods based on the presence of natural chemical products.