Mercury and methylmercury in fish from the eastern central Adriatic
Abstract
An attempt was made to determine mercury in some commercially important fish species (hake, red mullet and pandora) from the central Adriatic Sea (Kaštela Bay, Split Channel, Bay of Mali Ston and Vis Island - open waters). It is well known that inorganic mercury is easily transformed into very toxic methylmercury. One of the main media through which mercury reaches man is contaminated seafood in which it acumulates as methylmercury.
The highest mass concentrations of both total and metilmercury were recorded from fish from Kaštela Bay and Split Channel. This area used to receive considerable amounts of completely untreated mercury from the chlor-alkali plant. Mass concentrations were lowest in fish from Bay of Mali Ston.
Pandora showed the highest and hake the lowest mass concentrations among fish species studied. As to the sex, male pandora had higher mass concentrations, most probably due to protogyny. Red mullet showed the lowest concentrations.
Comparing these values with the upper concentration limits for mercury in seafood set by our country (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, No. 46/1994) shows that they highly exceed the limits beyond which no sale and consumption is allowed.
