Mercury Accumulation in Body Tissues of Yellowfin Seabream (Acanthopagrus Latus)under Sublethal Concentrations

In the present study, Mercury (Hg) accumulation in different tissues of Yellowfin seabream under different Hg concentrations in the medium were investigated. For this, PurPuse 45 fish specimen of the same size (19.2±1.8cm and 134.0±36.1 g) were caught from Musa Estuary, in northwest of the Persian Gulf and transferred to the laboratory. Fish were divided into five different groups of 9 fish each. Each group was exposed to nominal Hg concentrations of 10, 20, 40 and 80 µg L-1 of HgCl2. Control fish were not exposed to Hg. After 21 days, fish were captured and their tissues (scale, fin, bone, skin, muscle, gill and liver) dissected. Tissue samples were digested and Hg concentration determined using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that different tissues accumulated different amounts of Hg. The order of Hg accumulation in Hg-treated fish was as follows: liver > gills > muscle? skin? bones? fins and scales, which was differeed than that in control fish tissues. Hg accumulations in all tissues strongly and positively correlated with Hg concentrations in the medium.