Journal of Marine Biology

The present study intended to investigate the bioaccumulation of toxic (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium) and non-toxic (copper, iron and zinc) metals in edible (muscle) and inedible (gills) tissues of Rutilus frisii kutumin the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. The samples of Kutum were caught from 6 sites. Metals extracted from the tissue using nitric acid digestion method. Then the heavy metals were measured using the device for plasma atomic spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The accumulation of heavy metals Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Zn, in muscle 22.6, 3, 4.5, 4.79, 227, 402, 10680, 6843 and in gills 50.2, 7.3, 4.8, 14.3, 469, 405, 57400, 21323 (μg /kg) dry weight were respectively. The results showed that metal accumulation was significantly different among the tissues and was found to follow the order: gill>muscle (P<0.05). Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that the accumulation of As and Cd uptake in tissues had a significant direct relationship with the uptakes with weight and length indicators. Between the accumulation of heavy metals mercury, arsenic, copper, lead, arsenic in the muscle tissues of fish, significant positive correlation was found. Comparison of heavy metals accumulation in muscle tissue was lower from the World Health Organization's declaration of heavy metals, lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium, copper, iron and zinc were 0.4, 0.2, 0.5, 0.2, 1.3, 10, 100, 100 (μg /g) respectively. Therefore, the accumulation of heavy metals in whitefish is very low and this fish is not toxic for human consumption.