The Exposure of Marine Fish to Environmental Contaminants in the Coastal Caribbean Sea: A Review

In this literature review, we analyzed 26 studies measuring the chemical contamination levels of five pollutant families in 79 species of Caribbean marine fish. This was done to improve monitoring in the BES islands, special municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where little data on marine fish contamination exists. The review aimed to assess the research across the Caribbean Sea, revealing limited knowledge, yet indicating pollution levels in fish exceeding environmental thresholds, necessitating long-term monitoring. Following this analysis, we provide recommendations to implement improved monitoring in the BES islands and the Caribbean Sea in general. Implementing these recommendations could facilitate long-term monitoring, essential for identifying trends and later carry out regulation by decision-making bodies. Without such monitoring and regulation, the damage, as will the human populations consuming fish from these waters. By summarizing the current state of research on contaminants in Caribbean marine fish and providing recommendations for future monitoring, this paper contributes to the potential following regulation of chemical pollution in the Caribbean Sea.