Organochlorine Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Tissues of Landlocked Kokanee Salmon from Tolmachevskoye Reservoir, Kamchatka

Abstract

Concentrations of organochloride pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were obtained in landlocked kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi) from the Tolmachevskoye Reservoir, Kamchatka, correspond to the levels found in freshwater bodies of background areas around the world. The spatial distribution of PCBs and OCPs in kokanee at the spawning ground and in the deepwater part of the reservoir, as well as its distribution in the kokanee organs, indicate the atmospheric input of contaminants and the ongoing technogenic impact, which was generated during the establishment and operation of the Tolmachevskoye Reservoir. The contaminants that enter from these sources into the water column are incorporated into the food web of the water body. The permissible consumption of kokanee fillet from the Tolmachevskoye Reservoir and caviar from red salmon from the Kuril Lake by population is 10–26 kg and 1.2 kg per year respectively.