Study of trace metals in Indian major carp species from wastewater-fed fishponds of East Calcutta Wetlands

Abstract

Fish grown in the East Calcutta Wetland (ECW) areas in West Bengal, India amass waste elements within their body through nutritional uptake and accumulation. The present investigation had been carried out to study the extent of accumulation of different waste elements in tissues of Indian major carps (IMCs) commonly cultured in composite industrial wastewater-fed fishponds in ECW, India. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometric studies were used to estimate metals like chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) in water and sediment of fishponds, and in fish tissues (gill, liver and muscle) of three economically important IMCs, rohu (Labeo rohita), katla (Catla catla) and mrigel (Cirrhinus mrigala), collected from contaminated and control sites. It is evident from the study that mainly liver is the site of maximum accumulation of the elements, while gill, in most cases, is the site of least metal accumulation in the three IMC species studied. Principal component analysis reveals that Fe and Cr were in the first component and thereby must be having a major influence in trace metals uptake and bioaccumulation. Tissue-specific and species-specific patterns of metal concentration and partitioning were apparent from our present study.