Three hundred and fifty individuals

Three hundred and fifty individuals of 12 species of cephalopods which differed in their feeding habitats were
sampled from the French Atlantic coast to the sub-Arctic region Bay of Biscay, English Channel, west Irish coast
and Faroe Islands. and analysed for their cadmium contents. Comparison of the Cd levels of the cephalopods showed
that those from the sub-Arctic area contained very high Cd concentrations compared to those from lower latitudes
such as along the French Atlantic coast. High Cd levels in cephalopods from the sub-Arctic zone correspond closely
to the reported high Cd concentrations in the tissues of top vertebrate predators from the same area. Comparison of
the weekly Cd intakes for the Faroe Island pilot whales with the ‘Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake’ for humans
recommended by the World Health Organisation, showed that top vertebrate predators are often subjected to Cd
doses far in excess of those recommended for humans. Our limited survey results suggest that cephalopods constitute
an important source of Cd for cephalopod predators, and that this bioaccumulation effect is most evident at high
latitudes. Q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.