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Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Highly Consumed Pelagic and Benthic Fish and Associated Health Risk

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Abstract

The present study investigated the levels of Manganese (Mn), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) and Iron (Fe) in the tissues of a benthic fish (Clarias gariepinus) and a pelagic fish (Oreochromis niloticus), which are highly consumed in Ghana. The fish were collected from the Weija reservoir, which is an important source of fishery and potable water in Accra, Ghana. The results indicate heavy metal accumulation in all the tissues (gills, liver and muscles) analyzed. The bioaccumulation of all the metals was lowest in the muscles compared to the liver and gills in both species. The bioaccumulation of the metals was generally higher in the tissues of the catfish, except for Fe and Zn. Fe was higher in the gills and liver of the tilapia, and Zn was higher in the liver of the tilapia. The analysis of relationships between metal levels in the different tissues and the size of the fish showed a few significant correlations. The results also showed that all metals showed no potential health risk to consumers, as THQs and TTHQs in tilapia and catfish were less than one, and the metal levels in both species were all below the FAO/WHO maximum permissible limits.

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Data Availability

Data and calculation tools are available on request from the authors (erblankson@gmail.com).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mrs R. Nkrumah, Mr. Prince Owusu and the staff of the Ecological Laboratory, University of Ghana, who assisted with field and laboratory analysis.

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No funding was received.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Emmanuel R. Blankson, Nana K. A. Ohene-Obeng, Benedict A. Awuah, Daniel Oduro, Juliet Ewool & Francis Gbogbo

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  1. Emmanuel R. Blankson
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  2. Nana K. A. Ohene-Obeng
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  3. Benedict A. Awuah
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  4. Daniel Oduro
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  5. Juliet Ewool
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Contributions

E.R.B., F.G., N.K.A.O., and B.A.A. Study design and methodology. N.K.A.O., B.A.A., E.R.B., F.G., J.E., and D.O. Data collection and analysis. E.R.B. and F.G. wrote the main manuscript text. All authors approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Emmanuel R. Blankson.

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Blankson, E.R., Ohene-Obeng, N.K.A., Awuah, B.A. et al. Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Highly Consumed Pelagic and Benthic Fish and Associated Health Risk. Biol Trace Elem Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03943-2

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