Sincere thanks to the ACQUAPISCO SA. staff members and interns for their support during the Summer Sampling Campaign I. We would like to thank Joosen Steven and Valentine Mubiana for their help in metal analysis. This research is in frame of the joint Ph.D. research (MACOPSproject) of Iván Loaiza Alamo at Ghent University (UGent) and University of Antwerp (UAntwerp), and was supported and financed by Cienciactiva, initiative from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC), Peru. Contrato 214-2015-FONDECYT.

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC), Grant/Award Number: 214‐2015‐FONDECYT; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Grant/Award Number: GOH3817N Funding information

Seafood could be a promising way to supplement healthy fatty acids and trace elements to the Peruvian diet. Seafood from northern Peru was characterized with the highest relative concentrations of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), while in the center region marine species had the lowest As and Pb contents. Peruvian marine species are rich in LC-PUFAs and micro-nutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn), including species considered as potentially edible (e.g. Cycloxanthops sexdecimdentatus), but also non-edible species (e.g. Caulerpa filiformis). Nevertheless, it is crucial to consider toxic metals, e.g. As and Cd, which could pose a risk for consumers. High levels of beneficial LC-PUFAs and micro-nutrients would be taken up (up to 80% of the recommended values) when the Peruvian population would consume the estimated safe amount of seafood. Scoring species for fatty acid and metal cont...

The present study analyzed the Peruvian scallop Argopecten purpuratus and its food sources for metal and fatty acid concentrations in order to determine spatial and temporal differences. Metals such as copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in gills and iron (Fe) and Zn in sediments were the most significant explaining factors for spatial differentiations (degree of contamination), while for fatty acids, it was C14:0, C15:0, C16:0 and C18:0 in A. purpuratus' muscle and in its food sources, which explained more temporal differences (El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effect). Gills, digestive gland and intestine were the tissues where metal accumulation was the highest in A. purpuratus. Cd in digestive gland was always high, up to ∼250-fold higher than in other tissues, as previously reported in other bioindicator species for metal pollution. Fatty acids were good biomarkers when ...