International Journal of Marine Science, 2016, Vol.6, No.10, 1-8
2
This study has been conducted to determine Fe, Zn, Mn, Co, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Ni, Al and Hg concentrations in the
liver, gill, muscle and eggs of
M. merlangus
from the Sinop coast of the Turkish Black Sea. Liver and gills are
chosen as target organs whereas muscles and eggs are chosen as edible tissues for assessing metal accumulation.
2 Materials and Methods
Preparation fish samples and determination of heavy metals
The accumulation of heavy metals was studied in liver, gills, eggs and muscle of
M. merlangus
collected from
Sinop coasts of the Black Sea. The samples were collected during September 2014 and February 2015 from the
important fishing port in Sinop. Fish samples of uniform size were collected in order to avoid the possible mistake
due to size differences. The location of the sampling areas is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Location of sampling area
After capturing, fish specimens were transferred in an ice box immediately to the laboratory. Each specimen was
dissected with corrosion-resistant stainless steel knife, removing liver, gills, eggs and muscle tissues according to
a method of Bernhard (1976), UNEP (1984 and 1985). Each dissected organ was homogenized to form a
composite sample and placed in a polyethylene bag then stored at −21ºC before digestion.
Metal analysis in tissues of whiting was performed using m-AOAC 999.10- ICP/MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma
– Mass Spectrometer) method by accredited ÇEVRE Industrial Analysis Laboratory Services Trade Company
(TÜRKAK Test TS EN ISO IEC 17025 AB-0364-T). EN 15763 European Standard methods was applied. The
detection limits (µg/l) used for analysis of Fe, Zn, Mn, Co, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Ni, Al and Hg were 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.166,
0.5, 0.787, 0.05, 0.02, 0.15, 0.5 and 0.05, respectively.
Intake Levels Calculation
The average heavy metal weekly intake was calculated according to the following formula:
Heavy metals intake level = average heavy metal content X consumption of fish per person/ body weight
The annual quantity of fish consumed is 6.3 kg / person in 2013 (TUIK, 2014), which is equivalent to 17.3 g/day
for Turkey. This is equivalent to 121.1 g/week. The body weight of adult person is 70 kg.
