Evaluation of pollutant effects in environment is one of the major issues of the European Water Framework Directive 2000. Regulations have particularly the objective to reach to a good chemical and ecological status of water bodies. In this context, the aim of our study was to develop a multibiomarker approach on juvenile marine fish in order to evaluate the biological effects of chemical pollution in coastal areas. Molecular detoxification parameters (EROD, GST) and an antioxidant enzyme (CAT) were used as early warning tools of toxicity allowing the prevention of irreversible damages. In parallel, different physiological biomarkers (somatic and recent growth, RNA:DNA ratio, morphometric and lipidic indices) were analysed as reflecting damages on juveniles health. Sensitivity and relevance of molecular and physiological biomarkers were tested experimentally on juvenile : i) sea bass exposed to acute petroleum pollution, ii) sea bass and turbot submitted to a mix of contaminants in environmental concentrations during controlled and semi-controlled (caging) conditions. Our results show the ability of EROD, and in lower degree the GST, to detect short exposure (2 and 4 days) of organisms to petroleum and to reflect their deleterious effects on fish health. This relationship between molecular and physiological biomarkers was more difficultly established under multiple pollutions. Growth and condition indices were found to be more sensitive to the different levels of chemical contamination analysed (metal, PAHs). Their analyses allowed us to evaluate the weakened condition of organisms caged in the harbour area during 38 days. This caging experiment was relevant especially for juvenile sea bass in which no physiological stress was detected in the reference station. Deleterious effects of chemical contaminant on turbot juvenile health were also observed in controlled condition after 21 days exposure to the same harbour sediments and to an estuarine sediment. In complement to these experiments, a field study was realized on juvenile flounders sampled in some estuaries along the French and Belgium coast. A decrease of morphometric and lipidic indices were found in juvenile flounders from the three anthropogenic estuaries showing the highest metal bioconcentrations compared to the reference estuary. Results from these different studies showed the potentiality of growth and condition indices to reflect biological effects of chemical contaminants on juvenile marine fish. However, their use could be limited by their lower specificity to pollutant than parameters involved in detoxification. These works show therefore the need to use biomarkers at different level of biological organization in biomonitoring programs.
