Investigation of aliphatic hydrocarbons in red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and European hake (Merluccius merluccius) fish caught from the Edremit Bay (Western Turkey)

Abstract

In this study, aliphatic hydrocarbon levels were investigated in red mullet and european hake fish caught by trawler from Edremit Bay (Western Aegean, Turkey) in spring and autumn 2015. For this purpose, trawling was carried out from 3 different regions of the Edremit Bay in both seasons. As a result of the analyzes, total aliphatic hydrocarbon (TAH) levels in red mullet were found to be higher than that of european hake. TAH concentrations found for red mullet were in the range of 456-2090 ng/g, while it was found in the range of 61-746 ng/g for european hake. In general, TAH concentrations in red mullet were higher than that of european hake for both seasons. In addition, EOM amounts were found higher in red mullet like TAH. According to correlation, cluster and primary component analysis results, it was observed that the compounds affecting TAH levels in red mullet are C11 and C12 aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds, while european hake have C15, C17 and Pristane compounds. These results indicate that the source of aliphatic hydrocarbons in Edremit Bay fish is biogenic in european hake samples, although not exact, it may be petrogenic in red mullet samples.