The monitoring of pollution in bodies of water is an important part of  both environmental protection policy and natural resources management policy. The use of larvae and young fish in the evaluation of the toxicity of the water environment is a more sensitive index compared to the bioindication methods using adult organisms. The aim of the research was to assess the content of Na, Mg, Ca, K, and P in water and in fish larvae of the genus Atherina L., caught in  three Sevastopol bays. The research was carried out in 2012 in three Sevastopol bays: Golubaja, Omega, and Karantinna.  The larvae were caught with a fishing net in July 2012, in shallow coastal waters at a depth up to 1 m. Water samples were also collected from the same locations. The concentration of the studied elements in the samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The content of magnesium and calcium was higher in the water collected from Golubaja Bay than in the other sample collection sites, whereas water from Karantinna Bay was found to have the most phosphorus. The concentration of the studied elements in the larvae of Atherina L had the following order, starting from the greatest: P>K>Na>Ca>Mg. The sodium content ranged between 7.081 and 19.06 g ·kg-1, magnesium between 1.033 and 2.79 g · kg-1 potassium between 14.41 and 34.80 g · kg-1, calcium between 2.043 and 4.9671 g ·kg-1, whereas phosphorus was between 15.23 and 44.73 g · kg-1.  The highest content of all the studied elements, except for calcium and phosphorus, was found in the organisms caught in Golubaja Bay, whereas the lowest accumulation of these elements, except for phosphorus, was observed in larvae caught in Karantinna Bay which is located in the area with the highest anthropogenic impact. The decreased content of macronutrients in fish, particularly in their early developmental stages, may be the result of the toxic effect of pollutants.  

21.3.2016