Artificially fertilized eggs and newly hatched larvae of cod G. morhua were exposed to 14C-naphthalene, phenanthrene, benzo[a]pyrene and 2, 4, 5, 2'', 4'', 5''-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB) for 24 h and transferred to clean seawater. Radioactivity in eggs and larvae was measured at different times during exposure and after transfer to clean seawater. Maximum accumulation was found with phenanthrene; naphthalene accumulated only slightly in eggs and larvae. Naphthalene was rapidly eliminated in contrast to the slow elimination of the other more lipophilic components. Most radioactivity accumulated in eggs was transferred to the larvae upon hatching. Cod eggs and larvae accumulated lipophilic xenobiotics from seawater and the components were stored for a long time even after eggs and larvae were out of the polluted area.