Dioxin and dioxin-like PCB levels in cod-liver and -muscle from different fishing grounds of the North- and Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic

Abstract

The contaminant levels of dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non dioxin-like PCBs were determined in pooled samples of cod liver and corresponding cod muscle from different fishing grounds of the North- and Baltic Sea and from East Greenland. The dependence of the contaminant concentrations was studied on cod of three different sizes caught at the same fishing ground. Samples were taken during different research trips at 11 fishing grounds of the Baltic Sea, and 3 fishing grounds of the North Sea and of East Greenland in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Cod liver from the Baltic- and the North Sea were highly contaminated. Mean concentrations were 93 and 83 ng WHO-TEQ/kg wet weight (w.w.), respectively. Cod livers from East Greenland had only low contaminant levels of 3.4 ng WHO-TEQ/kg w.w. Highest concentrations were found in livers from the Bay of Kiel. Within the same fishing area the concentrations increased with the size of the cod. The WHO-TEQ amounts of the cod fillets were below 1 ng WHO-TEQ/kg w.w. and thus within the commonly observed low range for lean fish.