ACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN THE MUSCLE, LIVER AND GILL TISSUES OF EPINEPHELUS COIOIEDES

We studied concentration of heavy metals Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni in the muscle, liver and gill tissues of Epinephelus coinoiedes caught in autumn 2006 from Hendijan Coastal waters in the Persian Gulf. After biometrical measurements, the muscle, liver and gill tissues of 30 randomly selected fish were separated; metals were extracted from the tissues using chemical digestion method with pure nitric acid and their concentrations were determined by AAS. Mean concentrations (ppm/dry weight) were compared with the international standards such as WHO, UKMAFF and NHMRC. The mean concentration for Cd and Pb in all tissues with the exception of muscle tissue, were found higher than permissible limit. We found a positive linear relationship between accumulation of Ni, Pb and Cu in muscle tissue with total weight and total length factors (P0. 05).