Investigation of total lipid and fatty acid composition of some fish species caught from Norheast Black Sea during fishing season

In this study, total lipid contents and fatty acids methyl esters compositions of pelagic fish species namely; bonito (Sarda sadra, Block, 1793), garfish (Belone belone, Linnaeus, 1758) and shad (Alosa pontica, Eichwald, 1838), which are commercially important in Black Sea Region were investigated during the Fishing Season of August 2008- March 2009.Lipid analysis was performed according to Bligh and Dyer (1959) method and fatty acid methyl esters compositions were determined by using Gas Chromatography system. According to the results, average total lipid values of edible meat of bonito, garfish and shad were 8.38%, 8.4% and %17.28, respectively. Values showed similar tendency for bonito and garfish, both reached the maximum level in December. For shad on the other hand, February was the month when the maximum value (21.16%) of edible meat obtained. Bonito and garfish have higher amount of lipids in their livers than flesh (average 25.13% bonito and 18.70% garfish). Shad has liver lipids less than flesh. Gonadal lipids of garfish and shad were lower than other tissues (average 2.35% for garfish; 6.11% for shad).Bonito contained %38.81 and %34.58 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in fless and liver respectively. Garfish contained %38.10, %29.26 and %38.90 PUFA in flesh, liver and gonads, respectively. Shad contained %36.39, %30.91 and %38.85 PUFA in flesh, liver and gonads, respectively. Most abundant fatty acids were palmitic acid, oleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Each species was found as rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.