2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sampling and sample preparation
A large sampling of several species of
cephalopods, caught by trawl between 1992 and
1997 in waters of the Bay of Biscay, English
Channel, the Atlantic Irish coast and Faroe Islands,
have been used in the analysis. Samples
were immediately frozen on board in individual
plastic bags. In addition, three squids from the
Kerguelen Islands were collected in a single stomach
of a grey-headed albatross caught by longlined
fisheries. Each individual was weighed and
sex determined. The origin, number of individuals
and body weight for each species of cephalopods
are given in Table 1. Whenever it was possible,
the digestive gland was totally removed from the
dissected individuals and treated separately from
the remains of the animals. Cadmium concentrations
in the whole animals were calculated from
concentrations in the remains and in the digestive
gland.