Rainbow trout exposed to seawater or 20 ppm zinc showed hypersecretion of mucus whose sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) content 0.192 micro M g-1 mucus was not significantly different to that produced by trout in freshwater, 0.184 micro M g-1 mucus. 2. Measurement of sialic content in the water indicated its production (and therefore mucus production) was about 70 times higher in seawater and 20 ppm zinc compared to freshwater production.