FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 71, NO. 3 



mg V2O53 added to catalyze the digestive reac- 

 tion. After digestion, 10 ml of distilled, deionized 

 water were added; the samples were allowed 

 to cool; and 3-5 drops of hydrogen peroxide 

 solution (30% w/w) and another 10 ml of de- 

 ionized, distilled water were added. The digests 

 were then brought to 100 ml with distilled, 

 deionized water. The amount of mercury in the 

 digested samples was determined by flameless 

 atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) (Hatch 

 and Ott, 1968). The method was accurate 

 (>95% recovery) and precise (standard error 

 of mean for duplicates <5% of mean) in this 

 laboratory for samples containing 0.05-6.0 /jg 

 mercury (i.e., based on a 5-g sample, the method 

 is precise and accurate for 0.01-1.2 ppm Hg). 

 The data obtained were a measure of total 

 mercury, and stated in ppm wet weight. 



Fish were obtained at various times from 

 August 1971 to June 1972. All data represent 

 catches from at least two different time periods. 

 Duplicate analyses of samples were performed, 

 and if the duplicates varied by greater than 

 0.05 ppm, the data were discarded, and new 

 analyses performed. Reagent purity, glassware 

 cleanliness, and AAS performance were sciniti- 

 nized daily. 



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 



The mercury content of groundfish caught off 

 the Oregon coast is summarized in Table 1. 

 The only species with a mean mercury content 

 greater than the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- 

 tration's guideline of 0.50 ppm was spiny dog- 

 fish, Squalus acaiithias. The f-function signifi- 

 cance tests indicated the mean mercury content 

 of arrowtooth flounder, Atheresthes stomias; 

 sablefish, Anoplopo mafi m b ria ; Pacific hake, Me r- 

 lucciiis productus; starry flounder, Platichthys 

 stellatus; rex sole, Glyptocephalus zachirus; 

 Dover sole, Microstomus pacificus; petrale sole, 

 Eopsetta jorda)ii; English sole, Parophi^s 

 vetulus; sand sole, Psettichthys melanostictus; 

 canary rockfish, Sebastes puniiger; flag rockfish, 

 Sebastes rubrivinctus; and rougheye rockfish. 



•^ The use of V2O5 to catalyze the digestion was 

 originally developed by Robert Munns, Food and Drug 

 Administration, Denver, Colo. 



•a 

 c 

 3 



c 

 o 



00 



3 

 u 



o 



Id 



.J 



09 



< 



c ° ^ 



c >  



3 (DO 



f . 



E 



Q. 



O oi 



o- 

 Si 



(11 O Q. 



5 u a 



° £ 

 o 



OOOoOgOOOO'-OOOtO 



oopoopoopooooo^ 

 oooooooooooooo 



qpppppq^pq2Ppp2 

 doooooooo 000 



.— — ^<— ^CNcnn'~P"^(M'— CNfx 



ooooopoopoooooci 



oooo^coooooo'^'Or^r^QOCN 

 — o — — o — o <r> o o 01 o o trt 



ooooooooooooooo 



00^<N^oc^lc^LO•— CNOooirjOio 

 inr^'^cocoOcsioO'— '^■^cooof^ 

 pppqp—^'— oppcN-— oocM 



ooooooooooooooo 



(Ncnc^^cn"— i^ioio'^^hv.O'— CO-— 



ooooooooppoooo-— 



ir)^iONoncoooO'00"Or^>0'--0 

 oopoopo — pppoppcN 



ooooooooooooooo 



0(N'^coco"^r^'— oo^aocNncN 

 ^CN*— ocof*^or\c*5ooiocooino 



^ — — .— OCN'-CO^PC*)-— .— .— nO 



ooooooooooooooo 



CN>0'^OOOOCNQO'^OOQOCN"^OCO 





: ^ ^ •" i; 



— ^^, -.i^'^'-jZ-..; — . --^-. 



i b'*s"£^ ~-S ^^ 







o ,_ 



X ^ 



0) o 







2 .= ^ 



^ t. = <u 



•c ^ .5 ; ~ 



 ^ "1 ^ ~^ ^. 



'n o 



2 =5 



S 2^~J 2 -5: 



o jz -a •- o o 



D c o " o iJ 

 Q. Lu I/O 1/1 U >- 



° o 



_ai c;: 

 o o 



to Q. 



o . 

 1/1 



J? °- 



'c 

 01 



o 



c 

 Irt 

 c 

 

 (U 



E 



CO 



Z 



714 



