Organic Contaminants In Aquatic Environment

Contamination of the ecosystems of the coastal area and toxic substances present in aquatic organisms pose risks to human population and the environment, placing itself as one of the global problems of environmental pollution.

As a consequence of conflicts in the Western Balkans (1991-1995.), followed by full and partial destruction of industrial and military targets, in the biotic and abiotic environment matrix a significant amount of various pollutants was emitted. Particularly interesting is a group of semivolatile organic compounds, first of all polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides are ubiquitous contaminants with high hydrophobicity, thermal and

Aquatic environments offer the best conditions for bioaccumulation of these compounds. There is a myriad of organisms that filter and leak through their own body an enormous amount of water, thereby extract toxicants that own property of accumulation. Aquatic organisms accumulate substances in concentrations thousands of times greater than that is found in the waters. Once a substance enters the living organism, it can be moved through the food chain of organisms victims (herbivores) to consumer organisms (predators) that feed on them. For high lipophilic compounds, this movement can be accomplished by concentrating the toxicant in the tissues of each successive body that make links in the food chain. This phenomenon is known as a biomagnification. Persistent organic substances often are found in higher concentrations in animals that occupy a high position in the food chain. Biomagnification is the consequence of the fact that the higher predators are the long-lived animals. These animals by food chain enter into the body, persistent polluting substances by eating numerous of animals. Bioaccumulation is an important criterion for assessing the potential harmfulness of certain toxic substances to the environment, and qualitative and quantitative determination of toxic substances

Given that it lives in the rocks, the growth is limited, so in order to reach a length of about 5 cm it could take between 18 and 36 years. They can reach an age >54 years.(1-3)

They are distributed from the Eastern Atlantic, across the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. They feed by filtering the water (filtrators). It is one of the most prized shellfish to eat, but due to their specific lifestyle and slow growth they are not suitable for cultivation (harvesting). (4) As for the extraction of this shellfish it is necessary to break rocks, by its fishing large coastline rocky areas are destroyed which for result has the destruction of habitats and biological diversity.

In most countries, the law strictly prohibited catching, holding, killing, purchasing, sale, acquisition or alienation otherwise, export or import of date mussels, and damaging and destroying of their habitats. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, this species is not protected by law yet and in BiH market the date mussels harvested in the area of Neum bay could be found in free