Heavy metal content in muscle tissue of pikeperch Sander lucioperca in different reaches of Rybinsk Reservoir

The Rybinsk Reservoir is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Russia. The Sheksna reach of the Reservoir is worst anthropogenically affected due to the waste waters of the Cherepovets industrial plants. Heavy metals en-tering the Reservoir can accumulate in the body of fish including the predators ‒ the last link in the trophic chains of the Reservoir. Purpose of the study is to register the concentration of heavy metals in the muscles of the pikeperch Sander lucioperca in the Rybinsk Reservoir and to define its compliance with the Russian and international standards. The fish were caught in the feeding period with a trawl in the Sheksna and Volzhsky reaches, measured, and fatness coefficients were calculated according to Fulton and Clark. The content of Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Mn, Fe, Al, Co, Ni, V was determined in the fish muscle tissues. Fatness of pikeperch from the Rybinsk Reservoir, regardless of the level of the local anthropogenic pollution, corresponded to the mean values typical to this species. In the pikeperch muscles the content of nickel and vanadium was below the detection limit. On average, the tissues contained Cd 0.004, Cr 0.095, Pb 0.028, Cu 0.734, Mn 0.205, Fe 4.986, Al 12.538, Co 0.002 in mg/kg wet weight. Concentration of Fe, Al, Mn in the muscle tissues of pikeperch from the Sheksna reach significantly exceeded the values of Fe, Al, Mn in the muscle tissue of pikeperch in the Volga reach. Consumption of pikeperch meat from the Rybinsk Reservoir is not potentially hazardous to human health, since concentrations of heavy metals in the muscle tissues of the studied species do not exceed the permissible levels of elements, according to the Russian and international standards.