Halogenated persistent organic pollutants in deep water fish from waters to the west of Scotland

Halogenated persistent organic pollutants in relation to trophic level in deep sea fish

“…The roundnose grenadier (n = 43 individual fish), were collected at six different locations, at depths of between 600 m and 1800 m. The length (nose to anal fin) of the roundnose grenadier ranged from 11 to 24 cm (equivalent to 48 to 104 cm full length). This is similar to those collected in (Webster et al, 2009, 2011a. Black dogfish (n = 20) were collected at depths of between 725 m and 1500 m. Individual fish lengths (30-47 cm, mean = 41 cm) were similar to fish collected in 2008 (33-49 cm, mean 42 cm).…”

“…Black scabbard (n = 33 individual fish) were caught at six different locations ( Fig. 1 -the specific black scabbard locations are not specified on the map) at depths of 725 or 1260 m. The full length of the black scabbard ranged from 73 to 106 cm, similar to sizes reported from the previous work (Webster et al, 2009(Webster et al, , 2011a. There was considerable overlap in the depth zones the three species were collected from.…”

“…Building on surveys conducted during the period 2006-2008 (Webster et al, 2009(Webster et al, , 2011a, three species of deep water fish were collected by the research vessel MRV Scotia from the Rockall fishing area, to the west of Scotland (Fig. 1), in September 2009 and again in August and September 2011 and 2012.…”

“…Compared to shallow water species, deep water species were found to have an increased burden of the more highly chlorinated PCBs, indicating the accumulation of anthropogenic pollutants may be a concern for the deep water ecosystem (Mormede and Davies, 2002). More recently (2006-2008 inclusive) roundnose grenadier, black scabbard and black dogfish, collected from the continental shelf slope to the west of Scotland from depths ranging between 600 and 1700 m were analysed for PCBs and PBDEs (Webster et al, 2009(Webster et al, , 2011a. Halogenated POPs were detected in all three species, confirming that these contaminants are transported to the Scottish deep water environment, probably as a result of atmospheric deposition.…”

“…The three species (black scabbard, roundnose grenadier and black dogfish) previously analysed for POPs (Webster et al, 2009(Webster et al, , 2011a were the focus of this study. In addition, potential prey species were collected and all samples analysed for POPs, fatty acids and stable isotopes.…”