Abstract

Used from 1972 to 1993 in the French West Indies, chlordecone is an organochlorine insecticide spread in banana crops. Very stable and persistent, the molecule remains in the soil for a long time and contaminate marine environments through leaching and runoff events. Very lipophilic, this organochlorine shows an important potential of penetration in living organisms and a high risk of toxicity for both man and animals. In the French West Indies, the contamination of the marine species by chlordecone was first evidenced in the early 2000. Several studies were then conducted in order to quantify and map this contamination in seafood resources. These researches led to the establishment of several areas of fishing restrictions and fishing ban along the eastern coast of Basse Terre in Guadeloupe. However, few studies were conducted on the dynamics of contamination. Studying the transfer of the molecule through trophic food webs is essential to understand how chlordecone reaches marine ecosystems and how that molecule contaminates living organisms.

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