THE DRAGONET CALLIONYMUS-LYRA, A TARGET SPECIES USED FOR EVALUATION OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS ON FRENCH COASTS

An oceanographic cruise in 1991 along the English Channel and Atlantic coasts of France indicated the value of dragonet Callionymus lyra Lin naeus, 1758 as a target species for monitoring biological effects. Eth oxyresorufin-O-deethylase measurements in this species provided a firs t assessment of the effects of hydrocarbons (PCB, PAH, dioxins) on the marine environment. The specific behavior of dragonet was defined by biochemical characterization. Biological data were obtained during 3 a dditional oceanographic cruises to study changes in the abundance and distribution of the species in the English Channel and the Bay of Bisc ay. This first assessment, carried out in the context of the National Observation Network, indicated that pollutants do not have important c hronic effects on marine organisms collected along the Atlantic coasts except at a few heavily contaminated sites.