Samples of muscle tissue from red morwong Cheilodactylus fuscus (Pisces: Cheilodactylidae) collected at 24 sites along the coast near Sydney Australia were analysed for total concentrations of mercury, arsenic, selenium, zinc, cadmium, lead, nickel and copper. The sites were equally spaced around each of the three major ocean disposal sewage treatment plants (STP) in Sydney located at North Head, Bondi and Malabar. The mean concentrations of mercury, arsenic and zinc were highest in fish caught off Sydney Harbour and Malabar STP. The proportion of fish in which cadmium was detected was also highest off Sydney Harbour and south of Malabar STP. Average selenium concentrations decreased from north to south with peak concentrations at each STP. Many individual values of copper, lead, and nickel were near or below the detection limits and no notable trends were observed for these metals. Mercury was the only metal whose overall mean concentration exceeded the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Maximum Residue Limit (MRL).