Arsenic and mercury in commercially valuable fish species from the Persian Gulf: Influence of season and habitat

This study was undertaken to determine the concentrations of arsenic and mercury in edible muscle of pelagic (Scomberomorus commerson, Chirocentrus dorab, Sphyraena jello, Rachycentron conadum, Thunus tonggol), benthopelagic (Trichiurus lepturus, Caranx sem, Pampus argenteus, Parastromateus niger) and demersal (Nemipterus japonicas, Epinephelus coioides, Platycephalus indicus, Psettodes erumei, Pomadasys argenteus, Acanthopagrus latus) fish species from the Persian Gulf during summer and winter. The samples were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) for arsenic and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) for mercury after wet-ashing digestion. The results were expressed as μg/g of wet weight. The resulted range of contamination in fish species was between 0.156–0.834 μg/g for arsenic; and 0.120–0.527 μg/g for mercury. Also study revealed that seasonal variation influenced the concentration of the metals in the fish samples. The highest concentration of arsenic and mercury was found in Epinephelus coioides (1.011 μg/g) and Thunus tonggol (0.548 μg/g) in winter, respectively. Moreover, demersal fish species had the highest arsenic (0.481 μg/g) and mercury (0.312 μg/g) concentrations. Our study demonstrates that estimated daily and weekly intakes of arsenic and mercury via consumption of fish flesh were far below the PTDI and PTWI values established by FAO/WHO.