Discrimination between two reared stocks of cod (Gadus morhua) from the Faroe Islands by chemometry of the fatty acid composition in the heart tissue

The composition of fatty acids in total lipids and in phosphatidylcholine a nd phosphatidylethanolamine in the heart tissue from two reared stocks of c od (Gadus morhua L.) was determined by a chemometric method, consisting of methanolysis, gas chromatography of;he resulting fatty acid methyl esters a nd multivariate statistical treatment, by principal component analysis, of the analytical data. The two reared stocks of cod from the Faroe Bank and t he Faroe Plateau had significantly different fatty acid profiles in all thr ee groups of lipids. This difference is expected to be purely genetic and f ree of biotic and abiotic impacts on the fatty acid profiles. The observed clear-cut distinction suggests that the method may have the potential to di scriminate between the corresponding wild stocks, although possible variati on in the fatty acid profile caused by internal and environmental factors m ust be better understood.