Assessment of caudal fin clip as a non-lethal technique for predicting muscle tissue mercury concentrations in largemouth bass
S. A. Ryba A C , J. L. Lake A , J. R. Serbst A , A. D. Libby B and S. Ayvazian AA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory – Atlantic Ecology Division, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
B Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife, PO Box 218, West Kingston, RI 02892, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: ryba.stephan@epa.gov
Environmental Chemistry 5(3) 200-203 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN08017
Submitted: 20 February 2008 Accepted: 30 April 2008 Published: 19 June 2008
Environmental context. In the development of fish consumption advisories, fisheries biologists routinely sacrifice fish and analyse muscle fillets in order to determine the extent of mercury contamination. Such lethal techniques may not be suitable for endangered species or limited fish populations from smaller-sized water bodies. We compared the measured total mercury concentrations in tail fin clips to that of muscle fillets and illustrated that tail fin clips may be used as an accurate tool for predicting mercury in muscle tissue. This is the first study on the use of tail fin clips to predict mercury levels in the muscle tissue of largemouth bass with minimal impact on the fish.
Abstract. The statistical relationship between total mercury (Hg) concentration in clips from the caudal fin and muscle tissue of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from 26 freshwater sites in Rhode Island, USA was developed and evaluated to determine the utility of fin clip analysis as a non-lethal and convenient method for predicting mercury concentrations in tissues. The relationship of total Hg concentrations in fin clips and muscle tissue showed an r2 of 0.85 and may be compared with an r2 of 0.89 for Hg concentrations between scales and muscle tissue that was determined in a previous study on largemouth bass. The Hg concentration in fin clip samples (mean = 0.261 μg g–1 (dry)) was more than a factor of twenty greater than in the scale samples (mean = 0.012 μg g–1 (dry)). Therefore, fin clips may be a more responsive non-lethal predictor of muscle-Hg concentrations than scale in fish species which may have reduced Hg concentrations.
Additional keywords: bioavailability, largemouth bass, mercury, metals, non-lethal methods.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr Jim Heltshe for assistance with statistical analysis. They also thank the field crew at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the USA Environmental Protection Agency. This report has been reviewed by the USA EPA’s National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, Rhode Island, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Agency.
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