Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Levels in Sediment, Benthic, Benthopelagic and Pelagic Fish Species from the Persian Gulf

In this study, three stations of the north Persian Gulf were analyzed in order to determine the effect of trophic levels on the concentration of harmful PAHs in fish and sediment. In all cases, similar distributions were observed in which benzo(a)pyrene largely predominated and benzo(b)fluoranthene and pyrene were the second major compounds in fish tissues. The predominant components of PAHs in sediment were acenaphthene, pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene. Based on the molecular weight of PAHs, the concentrations of the compounds vary among species. Netuma bilineata, which is carnivorous, classified at a 0.49 to 3.8 trophic level and lives in association with sediment, accumulated the highest concentrations of high molecular weight PAHs, whereas L. abu, which is herbivorous and classified at a 0.2 to 2.6 trophic level, tended to accumulate low molecular weight PAHs. Comparison among the stations indicated that the fish and sediment from Tangestan estuary accumulated the highest levels of the compounds.