Total mercury concentrations were determined in the clupeid, Breworria tyvannus, from three estuaries of the Western Atlantic, and in the plankton on which they feed, as well as in the water sampled from the same localities. Although there was some indication that the food chain is a likely source of mercury contamination in these fish, as seen by the very much higher levels found in viscera compared with the rest of the fish, there was no evidence of strong food chain intensification. Fish mercury levels (0.3 to 0.5 part/106 dry wt) were about twice that for plankton ( 0 1 4 2 part/106 dry wt), with higher levels in phyto-than in zooplankton.
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