Persistent organic pollutants in tissues of the white-blooded Antarctic fish Champsocephalus gunnari and Chaenocephalus aceratus

Our results revealed higher contaminant levels in ovary than in muscle tissues of both species. Most analytes concentrations and the TEQs (0.2-0.5) and BEQs (0.2) were lower as in temperate species. Comparison with literature data points to higher PCB (20-22 ng g−1 lipid weight (lw)) and DDT (7-19.5 ng g−1 lw) concentrations than those measured in icefish in the 90's. For the other contaminants, we could not identify temporal trends. We found a higher bioaccumulation of contaminants, particularly HCB and DDTs, in C. aceratus (6.2 & 19.5 ng g−1 lw, respectively) than in C. gunnari (3.8 & 7.0 ng g−1 lw, respectively). However, there was no general species-specific accumulation pattern of the different toxicant classes between the two icefish. Thus, the expected link between contaminant burdens of C. aceratus and C. gunnari and their ecological traits was only weakly supported for these species.