Fishery resources are highly threatened by man-made chemicals that cause
early life-stage mortality in fish, and could consequently block
population recruitment. In a wide-scale and long-term investigation in
Taihu Lake, we found that the temporal and spatial variation in
embryonic mortality of crucian carp were consistent with the embryonic
TDCIPP concentrations. We also confirmed in a well-controlled laboratory
study that environmental concentrations of TDCIPP could cause embryonic
mortality in crucian carp. Thus, TDCIPP was a major causal agent for
mass embryonic mortality of crucian carp in Taihu Lake. These findings
highlight the deleterious effect of this high-production-volume
industrial chemical on global fishery and suggest ecosystem conservation
should account for supervision of ubiquitous chemicals.