Occurrence of Heavy Metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu and Fe) in the Edible Tissue of Megalaspis cordyla of the Coastal Waters of Visakhapatnam, A.P. India

Bioaccumulation of the heavy metals Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe and Cu in the muscle tissue of fish Megalaspis cordyla from the waters at Visakhapatnam harbour (St-I) and Gosthani estuary (St-II) has been studied to find out the differences, if there is any, due to pollution of coastal waters of Visakhapatnam caused by industrial effluents. Higher and significant levels of bioaccumulation of the trace metals were observed in the muscle tissues of fish collected at Visakhapatnam harbour, compared to those from Gosthani estuary.The pattern of absorption was similar at both the stations. Accumulation of zinc was high followed by iron, lead, copper and cadmium. Bioaccumulation of these metals was also observed to be affected by the pH of the coastal waters in different seasons of the year.