Trace metals in fish from the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract

Zinc. copper, cadmium, nickel, lead and mercury analyses were conducted on muscle and liver samples from 50 species of fish from the Great Barrier Reef. In muscle tissue, zinc ranged from 4.3 to 41.8 μg g −1 dry weight with 76% between 10.0 and 20.0 μg g −1. Copper ranged from 0.47 to 2.4 μg g −1 with 70% between 0.50 and 1.0 μg g −1. Cadmium, nickel and lead were not detected. Mercury ranged from <0.002 to 1.9 μg g −1 wet weight of which 90% did not exceed 0.200 μg g −1. Zinc, copper, cadmium and mercury in liver samples were often greatly in excess of those present in respective muscle samples whilst nickel and lead were rarely detected. Only mercury in fish showed evidence of size and trophic level dependance. Levels of all metals in muscle tissue generally ranked among the lowest reported in the literature, and (with the exception of mercury in 5% of the total) were well below the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council's standards for human consumption.