2-methylisoborneol implicated as a cause of off-flavour in channel catfish, Ictalums punctatus (Rafinesque), from commercial culture ponds in Mississippi

Abstract. Samples of water, sediment and fish were collected from six commercial channel catfish, Ictalurus punctalus (Rafinesque), ponds from May to October and analysed for muddy-odour producing compounds. Three episodes of off-flavour in the fish occurred in late summer. The episodes were of 2–3 months' duration and correlated with the levels of 2-methylisoborneol in water, sediment and fish. Oscillatoria agardliii was the dominant phytoplankton in ponds with off-flavour fish. Other known muddy odour-producing compounds such as geosmin, 2-isopropyl-3-mcthoxypyrazinc, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 2-isobutyl-6-methoxypyrazinc were not detected in the water sediment or at concentrations greater than 5·0 ng/l.