Assessment of Heavy Metals in Fourteen Marine Fish Species of Four Turkish Seas

Heavy metal concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni and Zn in muscles and livers of fourteen fish species from seven stations of four Turkish Seas viz. Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea, were monitored. Metal concentrations in muscles of fish species were found <0.01-0.43 mg kg(-1) for cadmium, <0.01-0.41 mg kg(-1) for cobalt, 0.03-2.08 mg kg(-1) for chromium, 0.16-10.7 mg kg(-1) for copper, 5.31-115 mg kg(-1) for iron, 0.07-3.62 mg kg(-1) for manganese, 0.01-3.43 mg kg(-1) for nickel, 0.15-1.15 mg kg(-1) for lead, 4.17-22.4 mg kg(-1) for zinc, respectively. All metal concentrations in livers were higher than those of in muscles for the same species. Metal concentrations in the edible parts of fish were assessed for human consumption by comparison with Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) and Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI) values. The values of all metals in muscles of analyzed fish in the present study stayed below the established limit values. Consequently, it might be concluded that these metals in the edible parts of the examined species should not pose any public health problems.