Heavy metals in fish from the Barents Sea (summer 1994)

To assess the significance of metals in biota of the Barents Sea, preliminary information is presented for the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cu and Zn in liver and muscle tissues of 15 marine fish species collected in the summer of 1994. Lead and Ni concentrations are below limits of detection (< 0.3 and 1.0 mg kg-1 dry wt.) in all tissues, as is Cd in muscle (< 0.10 mg kg-1). Generally, most of our results are within the reported literature range for various Arctic marine systems, especially regarding some commercially important species like cod and redfish, indicating that metal levels are not elevated. However, the interspecific variability is substantial and some remarkably high Cd levels (2.4 and 8.1 mg kg-1 dry wt.) in livers of Anarhichas species (catfish) and Raja fyllae (round skate) point to the problem of a general 'cadmium-anomaly' in polar marine waters, previously inferred from reported results for various pelagic and benthic invertebrates.