Total petroleum hydrocarbon in the tissues of some commercially important fishes of the Bay of Bengal

The present study reports the level of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in 27 commercially important fish, crustaceans and cephalopods from Orissa coast, Bay of Bengal to provide the baseline data for oil contamination in marine biota. The results showed significant differences in the TPH concentration in different species. Of all fish, Carangoides malabaricus showed the maximum TPH level (av. 13.70 μg g−1). In cephalopods, Loligo recorded the maximum TPH (av. 14.87 μg g−1) while Metapenaeus dobsoni recorded the maximum TPH (av. 13.18 μg g−1) among crustaceans. The concentration of TPH recorded in the present study were higher than the reported values from other studies in Bay of Bengal but were comparable with those of other Indian coast and Gulf water. The species recording maximum concentration and giving significant correlation coefficient may be of interest in oil pollution monitoring and can be used as indicator of hydrocarbon pollution in the region.