Rapp. Comm. int. Mer Médit., 36,2001
286
Introduction
The fish meat is an important component of the diet in the Croatian
coastal region. In this connection we report lead and cadmium levels
in muscle tissue and liver of three commercially important fish species
(hake,Merluccius merluccius; red mullet, Mullus barbatus; and pan-
dora fish, Pagellus erythrinus) from the eastern Middle Adriatic.
Methods
Fish samples were collected by the bottom trawl at 26 locations in
coastal and open waters of the eastern Middle Adriatic (Fig. 1), during
June and July of 1995. Sampling and pre-treatment of samples were
performed according to UNEP/FAO/IAEA/IOC (1). After sample
digestion (2), the analyses of Cd and Pb were performed by graphite
furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GF-AAS) on instru-
ment Perkin Elmer 1100 B. The accuracy of analytical procedure was
tested using certified reference materials (DORM-1, TUNA FISH,
DOLT-1 and TORT-1).
Figure 1. The eastern Middle Adriatic with geographical loca-
tions of sampling sites.
Results and Discussion
Cadmium concentration in the muscle tissue ranged from 4.2 to
18.8 µg kg
-1
wet weight, while concentrations of lead ranged from 60
to 170 µg kg
-1
w. wt. (Fig. 2), depending on the fish species. Values
found for cadmium are lower than most values previously reported for
the Adriatic and Mediterranean, whereas lead concentrations fall with-
in the range of values reported for coastal areas of the Mediterranean
(3, 4).
Cadmium and lead concentrations in liver (Cd: 10–408 µg kg
-1
w.
wt; Pb: 69–827 µg kg
-1
w. wt.) are similar to the results of recent stud-
ies for the Mediterranean (5). Generally, liver has accumulated higher
levels of trace metals than the muscle tissue. In addition, liver concen-
trations showed 2-3 times higher variation of values in comparison
with the muscle tissue. Differences between trace metal concentra-
tions in analysed tissues are the result of different physiological func-
tions of muscles and liver (2, 6).
Overall cadmium levels in the edible tissue of investigated species
are 8-12 times lower than the maximum permited value for fresh fish,
whereas lead levels are 11-12 times lower in comparison to the maxi-
mum permited value (7) (Fig. 2). Since the average daily intake of Cd
and Pb through this source in Croatia (8) constitutes a very small frac-
tion of the Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (9), we have concluded
that eadible tissue of selected species is not harmful for human health.
Figure 2. Trace metal content in selected tissues of three fish
species from the Eastern Middle Adriatic. Dots represent aver-
age values; lower and upper box edges represent average ± 1
SD; outlier bars are minimum and maximum values. Dashed
lines (– • –) present Maximum Permissible Levels for fresh fish
in Croatia.
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CADMIUM AND LEAD CONTENT IN MUSCLE TISSUE AND LIVER OF THREE FISH SPECIES
FROM THE EASTERN PART OF MIDDLE ADRIATIC
Zorana Kljakovic Gaspic*, Tomislav Zvonaric, Ante Baric
Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Croatia - kljakovic@izor.hr
Abstract
Concentrations of harmful trace metals (Cd and Pb) were determined in edible tissue and liver of three commercially important fish species
from the eastern Middle Adriatic. Levels found for cadmium and lead were not indicative of pollution. Cadmium concentration in fish
tissues was lower, whereas lead level was in the range of values reported for other coastal areas of the Mediterranean. The edible tissue of
the investigated species was not harmful for human health.
Keywords : Adriatic Sea, cadmium, lead
