Organochlorines and organophosphates were measured in four fish species (Lateolabrax japonicus, Pagrasomus major, Miichthys miiuy and Epinephalus awoara) and the mussel Perna viridis collected from aquaculture cages in coastal waters of Xiamen, China. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites were also measured in fish bile. Sites in Xiamen coastal waters (the harbour, Maluan and Tongan) are compared with a "cleaner" reference site at Dongshan Island. DDT was found in livers of all fish sampled (May 1998, 1999 and December 1999) ranging from 0.15 to 2.2 microg/g WW, but levels in muscle tissue (<0.5 ng/g to 0.22 microg/g WW) were at least an order of magnitude lower in the harbour, and were not detectable (<0.5 ng/g) in Tongan samples. All other pesticides examined were not detected in fish or mussels, except for dieldrin in one liver sample (0.07 microg/g WW). Food of the caged fish, small fish and dried pellets, had very low (0.015-0.027 microg/g WW) or non-detectable levels of DDT, indicating significant bioaccumulation of contaminants in caged fish and/or other possible sources of uptake (water and sediments). DDT levels in fish varied with species. DDT contamination in fish livers and whole mussels varied significantly with location. Highest concentrations in fish occurred in the harbour, and less consistently so in Tongan. Dongshan and Maluan had comparatively low levels of DDT. Relatively low residues of DDT in both fish and mussels at Dongshan likely reflect lower levels of pesticide input at this reference site. However, the low levels of DDT contamination in fish tissues from Maluan were unexpected in view of the close proximity of the harbour and possibly reflect the removal of particulate-bound contaminants by the intensive bivalve culture there. Consistently high proportions of DDT in the form of the parent compound (p,p'-DDT: fish 30-45%; mussels 40-65%) from all sites suggest recent releases of this chemical to the environment. Levels of two main groups of PAH metabolites (naphthalene and phenanthrene) in fish bile suggest a different environmental distribution pattern than that of pesticides, in that Dongshan fish appear to be no less exposed to hydrocarbons than those from Xiamen coastal waters.