Features of the trace element composition of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka Walbaum, 1792) from the Eastern Kamchatka bays

Abstract

This paper is the first study of the trace element content (iron, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, and cadmium) of sockeye salmon caught in Eastern Kamchatka (Avacha and Kamchatka Bays). The results obtained were compared with published data for Sakhalin herds of pink salmon feeding in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean and in the Sea of Japan. The East Kamchatka herds of sockeye salmon are characterized by low concentrations of Ni and Pb, but the content of Zn and Cu are an order of magnitude comparing to pink salmon came here from the open ocean waters and migrating through the Kuril-Kamchatka geochemical impact zone. The content of Zn and especially Cu in the sockeye salmon eggs are several times higher than that in the male testes. Differences in the content of trace elements in salmons are discussed in regard to their biology and ecology, i.e., nature of feeding grounds, where conditions are markedly different and depend on natural and anthropogenic factors.

Keywords

• pacific salmon
• avacha bay
• kamchatka bay
• geochemical environmental conditions
• migration
• feeding
• sakhalin-kuril region
• pink salmon