National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of 
Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource 
R. A. HALL, E. G. ZOOK, and G. M. MEABURN' 
ABSTRACT 
Trace element levels have been determined in tissues of 204 species of finfish, Mollusca, and 
Crustacea taken from 198 sites around the coastal United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. The 
survey was undertaken as part of the Microconstituents Program of the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, and covers the occurrence of 15 elements: antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, 
lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, tin, vanadium, and zinc. Total con- 
centrations of each element were determined without regard to chemical form. The species analyzed 
represent approximately 93% of the volume of the U.S. commercial and sportfish catch. The analy- 
tical data are summarized in several ways in order to emphasize different aspects of the trace element 
distributions. Mean levels of each element are presented in relation to the number of species examin- 
ed, the U.S. (commercial and sportfish) catch, and the U.S. catch intended for consumption. More 
detailed analytical data on all 15 elements are given for individual species with reference to tissue 
analyzed, length and weight of fish, and location of catch. For the most part, experimental results are 
presented without interpretive comment. Mean levels of mercury, the only element for which a regula- 
tory action level is in force, were found to exceed 0.5 ppm Hg in species representing less than 2% of the 
U.S. catch intended for consumption. 
INTRODUCTION 
A primary goal of the National Marine Fisheries Serv- 
ice (NMFS) is to promote the economic utilization of the 
Nation’s fishery resource, in full recognition of the neces- 
sity to safeguard the health of the consumer. The NMFS 
Microconstituents Program was established with the 
purpose, among others, of developing information on the 
occurrence of trace elements in fishes and fishery 
products intended for human consumption. Over the 
past decade there has been a growing concern that cer- 
tain chemical elements and their compounds entering 
the marine environment, chiefly as a result of industrial 
and urban pollution, may be accumulating in fishes at 
levels constituting a public health hazard. It was ap- 
parent in 1970, when the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- 
tration (FDA) established a temporary action level for a 
permissable mercury content of fish, that there was a 
lack of information on trace element levels in fishes. Fur- 
ther, it was evident that a thorough assessment of any 
adverse effects of these microconstituents on the future 
utilization of the resource would require the availability 
of a broad data base to which newly acquired measure- 
ments of contaminants could be referred. To meet these 
needs and with the added incentive of reassuring a con- 
cerned fishing industry, NMFS undertook a series of sur- 
veys to determine, through chemical analysis of fish 
tissues, trace element levels throughout the U.S. fish 
supply. 
A preliminary survey on the occurrence of five 
‘Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
NOAA, Regent Drive, University of Maryland Campus, College Park, 
MD 20740. 
elements (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mer- 
cury) was completed in 1974. At least 10 samples each of 
29 commonly consumed, domestic and imported, fishes 
and shellfishes were analyzed in the study. With the ex- 
ception of Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis; 
Pacific rockfish (mixed species); and red snapper, Lu- 
tjanus campechanus, none of the samples contained mer- 
cury above the FDA action level of 0.5 ppm Hg. Details of 
this study have been published (Zook et al. 1976). 
A comprehensive trace element survey, referred to here 
as the Resource Survey, was initiated in 1971 to cover the 
occurrence of 15 elements—antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), 
cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), 
manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), molybdenum (Mo), 
nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), 
vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)—in 204 species represent- 
ing at least 93% of the volume of the U.S. commercial 
catch (Wheeland 1973) and 93% of the volume of the 
U.S. sportfish catch (Deuel 1973). The elemental analyses 
provide baseline data to help identify where there may be 
a potential problem involving species, elements, or 
locations. This report presents the experimental data ob- 
tained during the course of the Resource Survey. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Fish Collection 
For purposes of fish collection and data assembly, U.S. 
coastal waters were divided into seven areas along 
natural and traditional boundaries. Each area was then 
divided into three degree lettered squares, except in 
Alaska, and subdivided into one degree sites as shown in 
