Bioaccumulation of metals in muscle, liver and gills of six commercial fish species at Anaikarai Dam of River Kaveri, South India.

ABSTRACT

Metals are an inherent component of the environment that pose a potential hazard to human beings and animals. The consumption of fish from the polluted site may result in bioaccumulation of persistent pollutants in ultimate recipient of the food web. In the present investigation muscle tissue, gill and liver of six species of fish collected from Anaikarai dam (11°8’N latitude and 79°27’E longitude) of River Kaveri, South India were analyzed to study the metal accumulation in various tissues. The mean concentrations of Co, Cr, Mn and Zn were found to be higher in gills, but Cu, Ni and Fe were more in liver of all fishes. The mean concentrations of Cr (11.8 μg g-1), Mn (4.4 μg g-1) and Fe (139 μg g-1) in the muscle were exceeding the permissible limit of FAO and WHO which is 1, 0.5 – 1.2 and 1.0 – 4.5 μg g-1 for Cr, Mn and Fe respectively. The fish Parastromateus niger has shown higher concentration of zinc in all the tissues and thus it can be used as a bioindicator species for zinc pollution in aquatic environment.