TITLE:
Heavy Metals in Some Fish Species and Bivalves from the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt
AUTHORS:
Mohamed A. Shreadah, Laila M. Abdel Fattah, Mamdouh A. Fahmy
KEYWORDS:
Heavy Metals, Fish, Bivalves, Mediterranean Coast, Egypt
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
7,
2015
ABSTRACT: Biota
samples were collected seasonally during three consecutive years from the
Egyptian costal region along the Mediterranean Sea for analysis of Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb
and Hg. In addition to bivalve Donax, seven commercially important species of
fish were examined to provide a comprehensive assessment for the concentrations
of these metals in the Mediterranean coastal region of Egypt. Despite of the
presence of several land-based sources of contamination, particularly at El-Mex
Bay and El-Maadiya, the results showed very weak increase in the concentration
of copper, lead and mercury revealing no accumulation of these metals in the biological
material, even in non-migrant bivalve species such as Donax. However, an
increase in the concentration of zinc and cadmium in fish tissues was measured
from 1993 to 1995. Regardless of the fish species, no significant differences
were observed in concentrations of most metals between different locations and
from season to season. Regarding concentrations of most metals, no interspecies
differences could be also measured in either fish tissues or in bivalve Donax.
The study indicated that the concentration of these heavy metals were well
below the documented toxic levels for human consumption and represent baseline
levels against which possible future heavy-metal contamination can be measured.