Polybrominated diphenyl ether contamination levels in fish from the Antarctic and the Mediterranean sea

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) concentrations and congener profiles were evaluated in four species of Antarctic fish (Chionodraco hamatus, Chaempsocephalus gunnari, Gymnoscopelus nicholsi, Trematomus eulepidotes) and in one Mediterranean species (Tuna, Thunnus thynnus). The GC/MS-ECNI analysis revealed that average ∑PBDE concentrations in Antarctic fish species ranged from 0.09 ng g-1 wet weight (wet wt) in G. nicholsi to 0.44 ng g-1 wet wt in C. gunnari. In Mediterranean tuna they were two or three orders of magnitude higher (15 ng g-1 wet wt). The PBDE congener profiles differed between species; low brominated congeners prevailed in Antarctic species while in tuna tetra- and pentabromodiphenyl ethers were the most abundant congener groups (41% and 44%, respectively). These results showed that PBDE levels significantly correlated with the length of the fishes (r2 = 0.85, p < 0.01) in C. hamatus, but not with the weight of the fish. Moreover, mean ∑PBDE concentrations in tuna were statistically higher in females than in males (18 and 13 ng g-1 wet wt, respectively; p < 0.05), which was explained by the lower fat contents of the males that just had entered the spawning period. The results of this study confirm that PBDE contamination of the marine environment now occurs on a global scale.