Decreased fitness of cod (Gadus morrhua L.) from polluted waters

The rotatory-flow technique was applied to cod, Gadus morrhua L., from different regions of Scandinavia. Fish from three area (Vikanes, Norway and Kristineberg and Gårdby, Sweden) in which the water is relatively unpolluted did not differ significantly as to the mean reaction quotient. Experiments to determine the fitness of cod from the Kristineberg and Stenungsund areas were conducted during a 29-month period. The mean reaction quotients for Stenungsund cod were significantly lower than those for Kristineberg cod for all the experiments except for the final tests conducted during November, 1975. They did not vary inversely to the amounts of monomethyl mercury, PCB and DDT analysed in the trunk muscles of tested specimens.In order to determine the effect of these toxic compounds on the efficiency of the fish from Kristineberg, cod were treated with sublethal doses given by oral intubation. A significant decrease in the reaction quotients was obtained with the lowest level of DDT used (1 ppm), the decreases in the reaction quotients being linearly correlated (r = 0·60) with the amount of DDT in the muscle tissue (mean value 0·36 ppm wet tissue). For PCB and mercury the corresponding mean levels in muscles were 1·8 and 1·5 ppm, respectively. These amounts are about 10, 30 and 75 times greater, respectively, than those found in the Stenungsund cod. It is, however, doubtful whether the distribution of the toxicants within the fish body corresponded to that occurring in the sea.