Organ and Tissue Distribution of Heavy Metals, and Their Growth-related Changes in Antarctic Fish,Pagothenia borchgrevinki

Abstract

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Antarctic fish remains to be studied. This paper reports the concentrations and distribution of heavy metals in organs and tissues of Antarctic fish, Pagothenia borchgrevinki, collected around the Syowa Station, Antarctica, during 1981, and also discusses the growth-related changes of heavy metal accumulation.The metal concentrations of the whole fish were lower for iron and mercury, and higher for cadmium compared with those of fishes from other oceans. Generally, high concentrations of the metals were observed in the liver, and low ones in the muscle. However, the concentrations of manganese, zinc, copper, lead and nickel were relatively high in the ovary and testis also, and those of manganese and zinc were the highest in the skin. Relatively high concentrations of cadmium and mercury were also found in the testis. Approximately 60* of the metal burden in the whole fish was on their muscle and bone which comprised an average of 80* of the body weight. However, a relat...