LE3 .A278 2021

2021

Avery, Trevor
Pomerleau, Rachel

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Contaminants in Indigenous food supplies in Labrador were quantified. Fish including Striped bass, Herring, Cod, Capelin, and Mackerel were collected by local anglers and commercial fisheries from coastal areas in Labrador. Small fishes such as Capelin and Herring were frozen as whole fish whereas only parts of other fish were provided. All dry weights of harvested tissues (muscle) and organs (liver and gonads) were converted to wet weight. Tissues and organs were processed by taking an interior piece and storing each in separate glass vials. Samples were freeze dried and ground into fine powder using a mortar and pestle prior to contaminant analysis of total mercury (THg) and other trace metals such as total selenium (TSe) and total arsenic (TAs). A total of 92 samples were analysed from 49 fish. There were clear signs of THg bioaccumulation in predatory fishes (Cod, Striped bass, and Atlantic salmon) compared to forage fishes (Capelin, Herring). Striped bass liver had a mean THg concentration of 0.418 ± 0.178 mg· kg-1ww. TAs concentration was high for Cod muscle (3.44 ± 2.49 mg· kg-1ww) as Cod are benthic feeders making them more susceptible to contaminant exposure. Higher levels of TSe were found in liver and gonad tissues. These preliminary findings will help inform future sampling efforts and analyses. More tissues samples would increase confidence levels in mean concentrations and allow more accurate relationships to be found between contaminants and biomagnification.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3569