International Journal of Marine Science, 2017, Vol.7, No.1, 1-7
2
The aquatic organisms swallow petroleum hydrocarbons from the aquatic environment either from the water or
from the suspended solids or with food or sediment (Heras et al., 1992; GESAMP, 1993; Cripps and Priddle,
1995).
GESAMP (1993) and Al-Saad et al. (2003) stated that the hydrocarbon pollutants have indirect effects on fishes as
they cause the destruction or death of aquatic grasses, aquatic plants, coral reefs, zooplankton and phytoplankton
which are used as a source of protection for the growth of larvae and small fishes or as a food for these animals.
Among these aquatic organisms fishes are known to be most sensitive to hydrocarbon compounds, leading to
several specific and non-specific responses by their immune system. The specific responses may be intended to
production of antibodies, and the unspecific responses may involve effects on increased activities such as
lysozyme and/or phagocytosis (Reynaud and Deschaux, 2006).
In Basrah city are producing and exporting about two million barrels, which in turn leads to increased pollution of
the marine environment and spread to river water environment, especially where the Shatt al-Arab is characterized
by many of the loading and discharge petroleum products areas. Present study provides information on total
petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in six commercial fish species from Shatt Al-Arab River in Basrah city which
used in later studies.
1 Materials and Methods
Shatt Al-Arab formed by the confluence of the
and the
River at
in
city of
southern
The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and
own to the mouth of the
river as it discharges into the
A variety of industries, including refineries and petrochemical
complexes, from this area release their effluents into the water such as Abadan oil refinery there are number of
ports where in the ship and cargo handling activities contribute to Shatt Al-Arab River.
Freshwater fish samples were collected during summer (June, July and August) and winter (December, January
and February
)
(2014-2015). Six economic species of freshwater fish locations were collected with the help of
local fisherman of the region from Shatt Al-Arab River, named and the morphometric measurements were taken
immediately (Table 1).
Table 1 Detailed information of the collected fish samples from Shatt Al-Arab
Fish species
Common
name
Habitat
Feeding habit Coad, 2010
No. of fish Total Weight (g) Total Length
(cm)
Fat (%)
Luciobarbus xanthopterus
Cattan
native
Carnivores
10
916
40
7.5
Ctenophyngodon idella
Gareeba
foreign
Herbivorous
18
1117
57
2.72
Cyprinus carpio
Samti
foreign
Omnivorous
30
1019
35
2.6
Tilapia zillii
Bultti
foreign
Omnivorous
60
75
15
2.5
Palaniza abu
Khishni
native
detritus and phytoplankton
feeding
46
43
21
3.5
Leuciscus vorax
Shillig
native
Carnivores
30
750
35
2.5
Fish samples were stored in pollution-free sealed polythene covers and transported to the laboratory at Marine
science center, in ice box and stored at −20
℃
in the deep freezer until analysis. Fish samples were taken out from
the deep freezer, thawed, and well cleaned in tap water to remove any external dirt. Edible muscle tissue without
the skin and bone were used in the chemical analysis. Information regarding species, lipid content, length and
weight is presented in Table 1.
