Norwegian monitoring programme on the inorganic and organic contaminants in fish caught in the Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea and North Sea, 1994–2001

Abstract

The results from part of a monitoring programme of contaminant levels in fish and other seafood products initiated by the Directorate of Fisheries in Norway in 1994 are presented. Concentrations of 22 elements (four are presented here: As, Cd, Hg and Pb) and HCB, HCH, PCB 28, 52, 101, 105, 118, 138, 153, 156, 180, pp-DDD, p-DDE, p-DDT, sum DDT and ¹³⁷Cs were determined in 17 species of fish caught in three sampling locations: the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. The fish species analysed in the survey were limited to species of commercial importance for Norway with catching volumes of at least 10 000 metric tons year⁻¹. The survey started in 1994 and is expected to continue beyond 2010. The analyses were carried out on 25 individual fish from each species and each sampling location, and the locations were representative of commercial fishing grounds for the species in question. The concentrations of contaminants found were considerably lower than the maximum levels permissible in fish set by CODEX and the European Union for contaminants in seafood products.

Keywords:

• arsenic
• cadmium
• mercury
• lead
• PCBs
• organochlorine pesticides
• radioactive caesium-137
• fish survey
• Norwegian waters

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Annette Bjordal, Jan Brenna, Tonja Eidsvik, Jorun Haugsnes, Dagmar Nordgard, Georg Olsen and Berit Engen Solli for technical assistant with sample preparation and chemical analyses, and to the Marine Research Institute, Bergen, for the Cs analyses.