The Source of Muddy Odor in Bream (Abramis brama) from the Porvoo Sea Area (Gulf of Finland)

Abstract

The study area was a shallow, extremely eutrophic, somewhat brackish water bay on the south coast of Finland. Muddy odor in bream (Abramis brama) was significantly correlated with the amount of the blue-green alga Oscillatoria agardhii occurring in the phytoplankton. Cultures dominated by this alga contained the muddy odor compound geosmin. The high concentrations of O. agardhii in the study area were caused by several interacting factors, of which the high nutrient concentration and the temperature of the water seemed to be especially important. Odoriferous actinomycetes isolated from the water produced the muddy odor compounds geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, but there seemed to be a lag time of several weeks between maximal concentrations of actinomycetes and development of off-flavors in the fish. Key words: geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, Oscillatoria agardhii, actinomycetes, flavor, fish, eutrophication