Bioaccumulation of Lead and Cadmium in liver and muscle tissues of Kutum fish (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in the southern Caspian Sea

The current study is focused on determination of the accumulation rate of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) in the liver and muscle tissues of the Caspian Kutum fish. Specimens were collected randomly from twelve stations in Mazandaran Province, the Caspian Sea Basin, between October 2009 and March 2010. Fork length, weight and length-weight relationship of samples were measured. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there is a significant difference for Pb and Cd content in liver and muscle (P<0.05). The highest level of bioaccumulation obtained for Pb in liver tissue (0.809 μg/g) from Fereidounkenar and the lowest level obtained for Cd in muscle tissue (0.038 μg/g) belongs to Koliver station. The results of linear regression analysis showed that, there were significant relationships between the heavy metal contents in both liver and muscle tissues and the fish weight (P<0.05). Comparison of heavy metal contents in both tissues revealed that the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in liver is higher than muscle. Comparisons showed that the range of Cd and Pb content in fish body is below of the international limited amounts given for these hazardous substances.