| Popis: |
Altogether, 123 specimens of yellowtail kingfish were collected in ocean waters offshore from Sydney, N.S.W. and analysed for total and methyl mercury. Only 111 of these were analysed for selenium. The mean total mercury concentration of muscle tissue was 0.15 mg kg−1, the maximum was 1.13 mg kg−1 and the integrated average mercury content was calculated as 0.20 mg kg−1 (based on length frequency distribution of the catch) and 0.34 mg kg−1 as determined from the gutted weight distribution of the catch. The methyl mercury concentration averaged 87.9% of total mercury. The correlation between the logarithm of total mercury content and length of fish was significant (r=0.838). The mean selenium concentration was 0.33 mg kg−1 with a maximum of 0.72 mg kg−1. The correlation between the mercury and selenium concentrations in the muscle tissue of yellowtail kingfish was not significant (r=0.316). |
