Assessment of the health of the Swan-Canning River System using Biochemical Markers of Exposure in Fish - Summary

The study focussed on the estuarine portion of the Swan-Canning River system, WA using the black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), an estuarine dependent fish species, as a biomonitoring tool. Prior to the commencement of this study it had been determined that the black bream was a suitable fish species for use as a biomonitoring tool when using mixed function oxygenase (MFO) activity induction under laboratory conditions. Biopsies taken from feral black bream collected from eight sites during the period 2000 to 2002 from the estuary confirmed that the use of MFO induction in this fish species as a biomarker of exposure to organic contaminants is a reliable biomarker.