Incidence of Heavy Metals (Pb, Cu, Zn) in Fish Species in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of lead, copper and zinc on the gills, viscera and muscle parts of three fish species- Clarias gariepinus, Channa obscura, and Tilapia zilli from Uwana river in Afikpo in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Lead concentrations did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) among the fish species and were 0.025 ± 0.045 ppm in C. gariepinus, 0.024 ± 0.041 ppm in C. obscura and 0.036 ± 0.056 ppm in T. zilli. However copper was significantly (p T. zilli 0.067 ± 0.116 ppm compared to C. gariepinus 0.033 ± 0.038 ppm and C. obscura 0.030 ± 0.041 ppm. Zinc concentrations were similar (p > 0.05) in the 3 fish species of C. gariepinus (0.454 ± 0.256 ppm), C. obscura (0.518 ± 0.246 ppm), and T. zilli (0.514 ± 0.279 ppm). Gills (0.026 ± 0.044 ppm), Viscera (0.029 ± 0.051 ppm) and Muscle (0.030 ± 0.048 ppm) did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) in lead content but viscera contained more copper (0.084 ± 0.114 ppm) compared to the gills (0.035 ± 0.039 ppm) and muscle (0.011 ± 0.013 ppm). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the zinc contents of the body parts as Gills contained more zinc (0.590 ± 0.209 ppm) compared to viscera (0.0567 ± 0.291 ppm) and muscle (0.329 ± 0.188 ppm). In all cases, the heavy metal concentrations in the fish species were lower than the maximum limit set by FAO/WHO/ FEPA.