DDX Concentrations in Fish Tissue and Sediment from the Southern California Bight

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an insecticide that is resistant to degradation and can cause increased risks of cancer, premature births, developmental abnormalities, and neurological diseases in humans and animals. Although banned in 1972, DDT was dumped into the ocean off the coast of southern California for decades. Recent documentation of the extent of this contamination has captured the attention of the public and raised concerns regarding the consumption of contaminated seafood. The state of California currently issues consumption advisories for coastal communities, but these advisories do not address DDT. To fill this gap and improve advisory accessibility, SaferSeafood has partnered with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations, who collected data on the incidence of DDT in sediments and fish in nearshore southern California waters. Using this data, we updated and validated their spatiotemporal statistical mode..., The data was compiled from researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from previously collected fish and sediment contaminant monitoring data from 1998 through 2021. The data came from the following sources: Southern California Bight Regional Monitoring Program, SWAMP Statewide Coastal Screening Survey, SWAMP Coastal Fish Contamination Program, Jarvis et al. 2007, McLaughlin et al. 2021, Southern California Coastal Marine Fish Contaminants Survey, LA County Sanitation District Local Trends Assessment, LA County Sanitation District Seafood Safety Assessment, and City of San Diego POTW Monitoring. This data focuses on the Southern California Bight. The sediment samples were collected via grab samples of top 5 cm at embayment sites and top 2 cm at offshore sites in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018. Fish tissue samples were collected off piers and boats, and composites consisted of 5-10 specimens and included only single species per composite. The data was subset to include only sedim..., , This README.txt file was generated on 2024-05-22 by Kate Becker, Hope Hahn, Luna Herschenfeld-Catalan, Ben Versteeg

**GENERAL INFORMATION**

1. **Title of the Project:**
Improving Access to Fish Consumption Advisories and Maintaining Confidence in California's Healthy Seafood Product
2. **Author Information**
This project was completed by a group of graduate students at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara. Team members include Hope Hahn, Luna Herschenfeld-Catalán, Benjamin Versteeg, and Kate Becker with guidance from our Faculty Advisor Bruce Kendall and Capstone Advisor Carmen Galaz-García.

Principal Investigator Contact Information - \
Name: Lillian McGill
Institution: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
Address: 9500 Gilman Drive # 0202, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information-
Name: Erin Satterthwaite
Institu...