However, besides locality of sample collection, bioaccumulation
of contaminants in marine biota can be viewed as a result of the
interaction of numerous biological factors comprising species, age, sex,
trophic level, dietary differences and reproductive state. All these biological
traits coupled to species-specific differences in the ability tometabolize
toxicants can explain the variations in contamination levels. Also the
animal health state plays a crucial role in determining the magnitude of
toxic burden. Orós et al. (2009), describes the high concentrations
encountered in Atlantic turtle liver as a result of a remobilization of
pollutants by adipose tissue due to poor physical condition, cachexia
and/or septicemia. In our case, apart from animals dead for causes
correlated to fishing activity (58.0%), the identity of the death causative
factors for the residual animals remain to be clearly identified. The extent
and severity of observed lesions were, in fact, judged to be insufficient to
have solely causedmortality, suggesting that other factors could be likely
implicated in the death of these turtles.