ORGANOCHLORINE CONTAMINANTS IN NORTHEAST ATLANTIC MINKE WHALES (BALAENOPTERA-ACUTOROSTRATA)

Blubber samples of 72 minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) were o btained from the northeast Atlantic in July and August 1992, and evalu ated for organochlorine contamination. The following organochlorines w ere determined: the industrial chemicals PCBs (polychlorinated bipheny ls), and the organochlorine pesticides DDTs (dichlorodiphenyltrichloro ethanes), HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexaneb), HCB (hexachlorobenzene) and C HLs (chlordanes). The concentrations of Sigma PCB (sum of concentratio ns of 18 PCB congeners) and Sigma DDT (sum of concentrations of p,p'-D DT, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, o,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDD) ranged from 06-20.8 and 0.5-14.8 mu g g(-1) lipid weight, with mean concentrations at 3.8 and 2.5 mu g g(-1) lipid weight, respectively. The mean concentrations of HCB, the chlordane metabolites oxychlordane, cis-chlordane and trans- nonachlor, and the HCH isomers (alpha-, beta- and gamma-HCH) were all < 1 mu g g(-1) lipid weight. Significantly higher concentrations of th e three major pollutants (Sigma PCB, Sigma DDT and Sigma CHL) were fou nd in mature males as compared to mature females and juveniles of both sexes. No such relationship was found for Sigma HCH and HCB. Stomach contents of northeast Atlantic minke whales indicate considerable hete rogeneity in the diet when comparing different years, seasons and geog raphical areas. However, without knowing more about the minke whale mi gration pattern, or possible geographical segregation with age and sex , the interchemical variation of organochlorines between sampling area s may not reflect true geographical differences. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.