Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Detection of heavy metal contamination in greasy grouper (Epinephelus tauvina) and striped mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) from Al-Hodeidah, Red Sea coast of Yemen

Author(s):

Hassan Heba ¹*, Osama Abuzinadah ¹, Mahfouz Al-Hamadi ², Anas Al-Nedhary ², Isam Abu Zeid ¹, Kulvinder Saini ¹, Abdelrahman Farajalla ¹, Mohamed Morsi Ahmed ^{1, 3}

Recieved Date: 2014-01-22, Accepted Date: 2014-04-12

Abstract:

Fish remains one of the most popular staple foods not only for the coastal communities but also globally. However, the presence of heavy metals in fish from certain coastal areas, have become a major cause of concern. We evaluated heavy metal contamination in two commercially important fish species, greasy grouper (Epinephelus tauvina) and striped Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (A. A. S.). Samples were collected from Al-Hodeidah coastal area and heavy metal content in white muscle tissue was analysed. The obtained results indicated that the two studied species of fish revealed wide variations among the heavy metal contents, with the levels of Zn and Mo being highest. When the total concentrations of all heavy metals in both the species were compared, it was observed that the striped mackerel (R. kanagurta) has a significantly higher concentration than the greasy grouper (E. tauvina) (17.65 and 12.6 µg/g dry wt.). These results might be due to, either the fat content in the R. kanagurta, or the diet consumed by this fish. Despite certain degree of heavy metal contaminants in two species of fish, it was found to be within worldwide safety standards. It is recommended that a continuous monitoring and surveillances of the heavy metals should be carried out regularly to keep track of any sudden contaminants leaking into these coastal areas.

Keywords:

Contamination, heavy metal pollution, fish, Red Sea coast, Yemen

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2014
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Category: Environment
Pages: 845-850

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