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Pollutants often exist as mixtures in environmental settings, creating a challenge in selecting the most effective combination of biomarkers for routine monitoring. This study was conducted seasonally in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, to compare the responses of nine biomarkers in the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis with respect to its tissue levels of persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. Multivariate statistical techniques were utilised to determine the single best predictor and optimal subset of biomarkers in P. viridis for each of the four scenarios: representing overall biomarker responses in the dry season, and wet season, as well as correlating tissue levels of mixed pollutants in the dry season, and wet season. Our findings recommend lysosomal destabilisation, and the nucleic acid ratio of RNA to DNA, as the core biomarkers in P. viridis for marine pollution monitoring. The non-specificity of these biomarkers allows effective identification of pollution hotspots and guides further detailed assessment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The green-lipped mussel Perna viridis was utilised for pollution biomonitoring in Victoria Harbour and its adjacent aquaculture area in Hong Kong. P. viridis was collected from a reference site and redeployed at five study sites for five weeks during the dry and wet seasons of 2019. Our study found various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals in the mussel tissue, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were not detected. P. viridis at the reference site generally displayed lower levels of pollutants. Comparing with previous research in the 1980s and 2000s, we observed substantial reduction in the tissue levels of PAHs, PCBs, OCPs and heavy metals in P. viridis. The human health risks associated with consuming these mussels were determined to be insignificant. Our findings imply that the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme has been effective in improving the water quality in Victoria Harbour and its adjacent aquaculture area., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)