Crude oil and light or heavy oils as well as the detergent ABS in concentrations of 5 and 50 ppm partially inactivate arylsulphatases in Euphausia superba and E. crystallorophias. After one hour exposure to detergent solutions the arylsulphatase activity in experimental animals transitorily increased. The arylsulphatase activity proved to be affected also in krill homogenates. The change of temperature, of the krill incubation in solution of crude oil or detergent, from — 1°С to + 1°C did not influence the enzyme activity. The damage of lysosomal membranes, by oils and the detergent, has been confirmed by the fact of enhanced penetration of Trypan blue into krill tissues.

In 25 krill samples (Euphausia superba) collected at the Scotia Sea and in the area of South Georgia, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands, Antarctic Peninsula and the eastern part of the Bellingshausen Sea the concentrations of Cd, Pb. Zn, F, 90Sr, 137Cs, U and 239, 240 Pu has been determined. The corresponding average concentrations were found to be: Cd — 2.5, Pb — 3.4, Z n — 123.1 , F — 50 (ppm dry weight), 90Sr— 1.9, 137Cs — 4.7 (mBq x -1 dry weight), U — 11.1 (ppb dry weight) and 239, 240Pu - 0.08 (mBq x g-1 dry weight).

In the summer of 1977/78, materials for determining the age and growth rate of Pseudochaenichthys georgianus Norman, 1937 were obtained in the South Georgia region. The 11—51 cm long fishes were of the age 1+ to 13+. The curvilinear relationship between the body length and the otolith radius took an S shape. In the first four years annual increments are almost identical and start to decrease in the following years. Spawning may occur in the 5th or 6th year of life, and hatching of larvae from eggs laid in autumn (IV—VI) takes place at the end of winter (IX of X). Larvae and juvenile fish lead an exclusively pelagic life, while older fish feed in near-bottom layers: when resources are scare there they seek food in the pelagial.