Mercury contamination in some marine biota species from Khuzestan shore, Persian Gulf

In this study, concentrations of mercury (Hg) were analyzed in some marine biota species (fish, shrimp, and crab) from Khuzestan shore, north part of the Persian Gulf. It was also our intention to evaluate potential risks to human health associated with seafood consumption. The results indicated that concentrations of Hg in the fish and crustacean were different among the species and tissues. Liver in fish and hepatopancreas in crustacean exhibited higher Hg concentration than the other tissues. The highest concentration of Hg was detected in Acanthopagrus lotus liver (1.37 mu g/g), followed by Labeo rohita (0.87 mu g/g), Johnius belangerii (0.79 mu g/g), and Barbus grypus (0.69 mu g/g), respectively. Also the highest Hg concentrations were detected in shrimp species, Penaeus semisulcatus hepatopancreas (0.95 mu g/g), followed by blue crab Portunus pelagicus (0.76 mu g/g) and Metapenaues affinis (0.64 mu g/g), respectively. The comparison indicated that benthic species were more contaminated than were other pelagic species. The results indicated that highest concentrations of Hg between different stations were detected in Musa estuary. The Hg concentration in all species were low than standards, expect in A. lotus and P. semisulcatus collected from Musa estuary (S4). The variation in Hg levels among the species is likely to have resulted from metal bioavailability, changes in tissue composition, habitat,s and locations.