Elemental composition of jaw cartilage of gummy shark Mustelus antarcticus Günther

The elemental composition of jaw cartilage of gummy shark, Mustelus antarcticus, from three locations on the Western Australian coast, was measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductivel coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Canonical variate (discriminant) analyses of the concentrations of 16 elements (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, S, Sr, and Zn) showed the pattern of concentrations to be specific to the location of capture of the fish. Correlations between various elemental concentrations are discussed in terms of changes that occur as the fish ages/grows and the cartilage calcifies. This preliminary study demonstrated that it might be possible to use elemental composition (fingerprints) of shark cartilage to delineate populations for fisheries management purposes, but it will be necessary to show that the location differences persist through time.