Environmental impact assessment of mussels caught in the Mediterranean Sea, Italy

Human activities and atmospheric pollution impact coastal ecosystems at different rate in the world. The oceans contain a wide range of animal species that are harvested for human consumption. It is estimated that more than 2 billion people world-wide depend on protein from seas and coastal habitats, yet it is into this environment that anthropogenic pollutants often accumulate. Contamination of seafood is inevitable. The word ―mussel‖ is frequently used to name the edible bivalves of the marine family Mytilidae, most of which live on exposed shores in the intertidal zone, attached by means of their strong byssal threads to a firm substrate. Mussels are stationary filter feeders that filter large quantities of seawater, keeping in this way large amounts of pollutants, and constitute a source of contaminants for marine organisms that feed on them. As they accumulate pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, polychlorobiphenyls, PCBs, organochlorine compounds, OCs) efficiently, they can be used in water monitoring programs. Similarly to other invertebrates mussels show a slow metabolic rate and consequently a slow xenobiotic biotransformation. Mussels filter suspended matter from the water column and deposit it as feces and pseudofeces. The food of mussels consists of particulate organic matter and other microscopic sea creatures which are free-floating in seawater. Organic matter is produced in the water column (phytoplankton) and the waves are very important for the availability of this food because they cause turbulence and keep organic matter in suspension. Mussels serve as an important food source for a wide range of organisms (e.g., starfish, eider ducks, some predatory marine gastropods and oystercatchers) and are also eaten by humans. As a matter of fact they contribute to the PCBs, PAHs and OCs intake in human being. [...]