HEAVY METALS CONCENTRATION IN SOME FISH TISSUES FROM SOUTH MEDITERRANEAN WATERS, EGYPT

Abstract

The concentration s of nine heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pd and Zn) were determined in five common fish namely: Sigana-Batata (Siganiis rivulatus), Bouri {Mugil capito and Balarnita bed' (Scomber unicolor) from the open sea, facing to Lake Edku, and Bolti Aklidar (Tilapia zillii) and Karmout (Clarias lazera) from Lake Edku. Three metals (Co, Ni and Pd) were not yet detected in the studied fish species during the four seasons. The average concentrations of the other heavy metals analyzed exhibited the following decreasing order: Fe > Zn > Mn >Cd>Cu>Hg. The concentrations of Cu and Zn were lower than the Effect Range-Low (ERL) for all studied fish, while the other metals (Fe, Mn, Cd and Hg) were ranging from over the ERL and under the Effect Range-Median (ERM). These results suggest that the fish collected from open sea and Lake Edku might be considered relatively unpolluted 'with heavy metals. The metal pollution index (MPI) for most studied fish fluctuated between the calculated MPI for ERL and ERM. However, MPI recorded for summer showed the highest value over other seasons in the studied fish samples.