Energy content and fatty acid composition of vendace (Coregonus albula L.) gonads in four Finnish and Estonian lakes

The energy densities and fatty acid compositions of vendace (Coregonus albula L.) gonads and their gonadosomatic indexes were studied in four vendace populations in different parts of the vendace distribution rage in September-November 1995. The energy densities of somatic tissue were lower than that of the eggs (21.4-23.5 and 26.9-27.4 kJ g(-1) (dw), respectively). The triglyceride/phospholipid ratio (TG/PL) of egg lipids was about 3. Polyunsaturated fatty acids dominated both triglycerides and phospholipids. The proportion of the most important polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid, varied between 17.0 and 28.5 mol % in the phospholipid fraction The further north the sampling area, the higher the relative amount of docosahexaenoic acid in phospholipids.