Mercury concentrations in ten fish species from the Arabian Sea, Pakistan

Abstract

Mercury concentrations in ten fish species harvested from twenty sites in the South West Coast of Pakistan, are reported. The following fish, within a limited weight range, were included in this study: Picnic seabream, Indian scad, Indian ariomma, Bigeye scad, Threadfins, Cornet fish, Lefteye flounder, Gold band goatfish, Smooth dwarf monocle bream and Half‐mourning coraker. Comparative estimations were also made of mercury content in marine water from various sites. Statistical correlations based on the metal distribution were evolved on the basis of fish‐to‐site and fish‐to‐fish to provide evidence for the observed mercury concentrations in relation to sites and species. The minimum mercury concentration was encountered in Picnic seabream (X = 0.046 μg/g, wet weight) and the maximum concentration (X = 0.269 μg/g, wet weight) in Cornet fish. The present data were compared with the corresponding data on the concentrations of mercury in some common fish species in addition to prawn, crab and squid from the...