Mercury Bioaccumulation in various tissues of Kor river fishes in IRAN

The concentration of Mercury in muscles, liver, kidneys, brain and gonad tissues of two Cyprinid families, Cyprinous carpio and Copoeta spp., of the Kor river was evaluated in 2006. The river was divided into three parts (75 speciments from each part): Upper zone Doroodzan dam zone as control), mid zone (Band-e-Amir village) and lower zone (Korbal village). Tissue samples were digested in acid and their Hg concentrations were assayed by Induction Coupled Plasma method. Statistical analysis of data showed significantly (P<0.05) higher concentrations of Hg in the mid zone than the two other zones. No significant differences (P>0.05) were seen between different sexes and species. The same pattern of contamination was also observed in water and sediment samples from three sampling zones. The maximum amount of Hg measured in this study was 0.99mg/kg BW which was lower than the maximum allowance in fish tissues by European Unions.

Keywords:

Mercury , Fish , Bioaccumulation , Kor River , Fars , IRAN