Plasma protein profiles of severely ice-damaged Notothenioidei fish

A small percentage of the notothenioid fish caught in the McMurdo Sound or Terra Nova Bay region were found to have what was classed as ice damage (oedema) in their eyes, potentially resulting from time spent exposed to the cold air temperatures post catching while the hook was being removed, or scratching of the eye spectacle by ice crystals as the fish was being wound in post catching. The plasma protein profiles of the ice damaged fish were examined and found to have a markedly altered plasma protein profile with a general lowering of the concentration of all plasma proteins.

The plasma protein profile was found to differ depending on the amount of ice damage. An investigation was performed to determine if the lowering of the concentration of plasma proteins is part of a stress response invoked by the freezing of the ocular fluid after contact with ice, which in turn induced an upregulation in antifreeze concentration between ice damaged and non-ice damaged fish. The fish species investigated include: Pagothenia borchgrevinki, Trematomus pennellii, T. bernacchii, T. hansoni, T.newnesi and T. eulepidotus.