Methylmercury in Freshwater and Marine Fishes in New Brunswick, in the Bay of Fundy, and on the Nova Scotia Banks

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Zitko, V., Finlayson, B. J., Wildish, D. J., Anderson, J. M., Kohler, A. C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f71-195; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f71-195

American eel (Anguilla rostrata), chain pickerel (Esox niger), white perch (Morone americana), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) contained 0.07–2.08, 0.27–1.58, 0.75–1.07, 0.20–1.05, 0.08–0.13, and 0.09 ppm of methylmercury, expressed as mercury on wet weight basis, respectively. With only two exceptions, levels of methylmercury in marine fish were below 0.13 ppm. Some of the freshwater sampling locations could be directly associated with an industrial activity in the area, whereas others suggested pollution by airborne mercury. However, the concentration of methylmercury in eels from a lake in New Brunswick did not change over a period of 46 years, indicating that elevated levels of mercury may in some instances reflect the natural situation.