Half a century of changing mercury levels in Swedish freshwater fish

Abstract

The variability of mercury (Hg) levels in Swedish freshwater fish during almost 50 years was assessed based on a compilation of 44 927 observations from 2881 waters. To obtain comparable values, individual Hg concentrations of fish from any species and of any size were normalized to correspond to a standard 1-kg pike [median: 0.69 mg kg(-1) wet weight (ww), mean +/- SD: 0.84 +/- 0.67 mg kg(-1) ww]. The EU Environmental Quality Standard of 0.02 mg kg(-1) was exceeded in all waters, while the guideline set by FAO/WHO for Hg levels in fish used for human consumption (0.5-1.0 mg kg(-1)) was exceeded in 52.5 % of Swedish waters after 2000. Different trend analysis approaches indicated an overall long-term decline of at least 20 % during 1965-2012 but trends did not follow any consistent regional pattern. During the latest decade (2003-2012), however, a spatial gradient has emerged with decreasing trends predominating in southwestern Sweden.

Keywords

Mercury; Freshwater; Environmental Quality Standard; Trend analysis

Published in

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
2014, volume: 43, number: 1, pages: 91-103
Publisher: SPRINGER

SLU Authors

• Åkerblom, Staffan

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Meili, Markus

  • Stockholm University

• Sonesten, Lars

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Organic risk substances and metals (until May 2010)
Non-toxic environment
Use of FOMA data

Global goals (SDG)

SDG14 Life below water

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Health and Occupational Health
Environmental Sciences
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0564-1

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/65083