The Effect of Feeding Conditions on Micronutrient Content in Pacific Salmon

Abstract

Three of the most widespread species of Pacific salmon in the Sakhalin-Kuril region were studied for the content of microelements in organs and tissues. Depending on where the fish were feeding and migrating, there was a significant difference in the content of essential (Zn, Cu, Fe) and nonessential (Ni, Pb, Cd) metals. Sakhalin pink salmon from the Sea of Okhotsk, which was feeding in the waters of the northwestern part of Pacific near the Kuril Islands, had a significantly higher content of all studied metals in organs and tissues, except for Zn, compared to masu salmon characterized by sea feeding. Chum salmon from Primorye, similar to the Sakhalin masu salmon that came to spawn in the Bahura River, differed markedly in large concentrations of Zn and Ni in organs and tissues. The high level of iron content in the liver of the Primorsky chum salmon indicates a large terrigenous load on the Sea of Japan. At the same time, in all the studied organs and tissues of the masu salmon, which does not make long migrations to the ocean, the concentration of lead and cadmium is noticeably lower than in the Sakhalin and Kuril chum, which crosses the impact geochemical zone several times in its life during oceanic migrations and feeding.