Mercury Bioaccumulation in Some Commercially Valuable Marine Organisms from Mosa Bay, Persian Gulf

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the concentration of mercury in edible muscle of five commercially valuable marine organisms from Mosa Bay, Persian Gulf, Iran. The total mercury concentrations were determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry and expressed in μg/g dry weight. Certified reference materials were used for each batch of analysis. Mercury concentration was 0.373 μg/g for Liza abu, 1.172 μg/g Sparidentex hasta, 0.445μg/g for Acanthopagrus latus, 0.390 μg/g for Thunnus tonggol, and 0.360 μg/g for Fenneropenaeus indicus. Carnivorous fish had higher level of mercury than non-carnivorous. Statistical analysis revealed weak correlation between fish mercury concentration and length for all studied organisms. The observed concentrations were comparable to those found in other areas of the Persian Gulf and were lower than the WHO guideline of 0.5 mg/kg wet weight. Our result demonstrated that estimated daily and weekly intakes of mercury via consumption of fish flesh were far below the PTDI and PTWI values recommended by FAO/WHO.