Bustnes Jan Ove, Nygård Torgeir, Dempster Tim, Ciesielski Tomasz, Jenssen Bjørn Munro, Bjørn Pål Arne, Uglem Ingebrigt
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram-High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, NO-9296 Tromsø, Norway.
J Environ Monit. 2011 Jun;13(6):1687-94. doi: 10.1039/c1em10083a. Epub 2011 May 17.
Earlier assessments have suggested that salmon farms may act as a source of mercury (Hg) and other elements in local marine environments. In this study, we measured 30 elements in the livers of demersal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and pelagic saithe (Pollachius virens) caught in association with salmon farms (farm associated [FA]; n = 75) or at reference locations (control; n = 80) in three regions throughout the latitudinal extent of Norway (59-70° N). Concentrations of most elements (24 of 30) were higher (20-70%) in cod compared to saithe. In particular, Hg was 6.8 times higher in cod than saithe. Nine elements were significantly different between FA saithe and control saithe, but only four (Hg, U, Cr and Mn) were highest in FA saithe, and this pattern was only detected consistently across all locations for Hg. Thirteen elements differed in concentration between FA cod and control cod, but only three elements (U, Al and Ba) were higher in FA cod than controls, and this pattern was only detected consistently across all locations for Al. After controlling for a set of potentially confounding variables, the estimated concentrations of Hg in saithe livers were ∼80% higher in FA fish compared to controls. In contrast, Hg concentrations were ∼40% higher in control cod compared to FA cod. Our results do not support the notion that salmon farms in general increase the concentrations of potentially harmful elements in wild fish, and the distribution of Hg and other elements in cod and saithe in Norwegian coastal waters may be more influenced by habitat use, diet, geochemical conditions and water chemistry.
早期评估表明，鲑鱼养殖场可能是当地海洋环境中汞（Hg）及其他元素的一个来源。在本研究中，我们测量了在挪威整个纬度范围（北纬59 - 70°）的三个区域中，与鲑鱼养殖场相关捕获的底栖大西洋鳕鱼（Gadus morhua）和中上层黑线鳕（Pollachius virens）肝脏中的30种元素。这些鳕鱼和黑线鳕要么与养殖场相关（养殖场关联[FA]；n = 75），要么捕获自参考地点（对照；n = 80）。与黑线鳕相比，大多数元素（30种中的24种）在鳕鱼中的浓度更高（高20 - 70%）。特别是，鳕鱼体内的汞含量比黑线鳕高6.8倍。FA组黑线鳕和对照组黑线鳕之间有9种元素存在显著差异，但只有4种（汞、铀、铬和锰）在FA组黑线鳕中含量最高，并且这种模式仅在所有地点都一致检测到汞的情况下存在。FA组鳕鱼和对照组鳕鱼之间有13种元素的浓度不同，但只有3种元素（铀、铝和钡）在FA组鳕鱼中的含量高于对照组，并且这种模式仅在所有地点都一致检测到铝的情况下存在。在控制了一组潜在的混杂变量后，FA组鱼类肝脏中汞的估计浓度比对照组高出约80%。相比之下，对照组鳕鱼的汞浓度比FA组鳕鱼高出约40%。我们的结果不支持这样的观点，即一般来说鲑鱼养殖场会增加野生鱼类中潜在有害元素的浓度，挪威沿海水域中鳕鱼和黑线鳕体内汞及其他元素的分布可能更多地受到栖息地利用、饮食、地球化学条件和水化学的影响。
