Contamination of Lead in the Muscle, Liver and Kidney Tissues of Three Commercially Important Fish Species

Lead contamination in three commercially important fish species, the Indian mackerel (Rastrellinger kanagurla), the Eastern little tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and the Atlantic tripletail (Loboies surinamensis), were studied from samples collected from Acheh (Indonesia), Penang and Perak (Malaysia). Lead concentrations were analysed in the muscle, liver and kidney tissues. On the whole, the mean concentration of Pb was found to be highest in the liver (0.24 ± 0.20 µg/g dry wt.), followed by kidney (0.17 ± 0.15 µg/g dry wt.) and lowest in the muscle tissues (0.07 ± 0.05 µg/g dry wt.). Among the species, highest lead level was found in the tuna, followed by mackerel and lowest in the tripletail.