Sandimirov S. Screening studies of POP levels in fish from selected lakes in the Paz watercourse / In State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area. The Finnish Environment. Finland, Jyvaskyla: Kopijyva Oy. 2007, №6.

Screening studies o f POPs in fish from the Paz watercourse project can be used to evaluate if it is safe for the local population to continue to consume fish caught in the Paz watercourse. Figure 1. Fish sampling sites in the Paz watercourse Lake Kuetsjarvi (station), Skrukkebukta (station 2), Vaggetem (Ruskebukta and Tjarebukta = station 3 and 4), Rajakoski (station 5) and the reference lake; Lake Stuorajavri (station 6). 2 Study area and sampling locations The Inari-Pasvik watershed is the main freshwater system in the region, covering an area of approximately 1250 km2 It has a catchment area of 18 404 km2, of which approximately 70 % belongs to Finland, 25 % to Russia and 5 % to Norway. The watercourse has important environmental qualities and rich natural resources, constituting a subarctic system with high biodiversity and production of fish and other aquatic organisms. Detailed descriptions of the study area are given in numerous report and publications (e.g. Arnesen et al., 1996; Moiseenko et al., 1995; Amundsen et al., 1993; 1997; Lukin et a l, 2003). Sampling of fish was carried out in several periods from 2004 to 2005. The following lakes in the Paz watercourse were sampled: Lake Kuetsjarvi (station 1), Skrukkebukta (station 2), Tj^rebukta (station 3), Ruskebukta (station 4) and Rajakoski (station 5). In addition fish samples were collected from the reference Lake Stuorajavri, Kautokeino (station 6) (Table 1). Akvaplan-niva report APN 514-3365.02 5