Selenium content in European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus eperlanus L.) in Pomerania Bay, Gdansk Bay and Curonian Lagoon

Migratory smelt (Osmerus eperlanus eperlanus L.) may be perceived as a valuable indicative organism in monitoring the current environmental status and in assessment of a potential risk caused by selenium pollution. The aim of the study was to compare the selenium content in the European smelt from the Bay of Pomerania, Gdansk, and the Curonian Lagoon. The experimental material consisted of smelt samples (muscle) caught in the bays of Gdansk and Pomerania and the Curonian Lagoon (estuaries of the three largest rivers in the Baltic Sea basin: the Oder, the Vistula and the Neman). A total of 133 smelt were examined (Pomerania Bay n = 67; Gdansk Bay n = 35; Curonian Lagoon n = 31). Selenium concentrations were determined spectrofluorometrically. The data were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance, calculated in Statistica PL software. The region of fish collection significantly affected the content of selenium in the examined smelts. The highest content of selenium was observed in smelt caught in the Bay of Gdansk (0.236 μg g-1 w.w.), then in smelt from the Pomeranian Bay (0.165 μg g-1 w.w.), and the lowest in smelt obtained in the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania) (0.104 μg g-1 w.w.). The low concentrations of selenium recorded in the smelt show that there is a deficiency of this element, especially in the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania). Geochemically, Poland and Lithuania are selenium deficient areas. Migratory smelt may serve as indicative organisms of environmental levels of selenium.