Total mercury content in marine organisms of the hooghly estuary, West Bengal, India

This paper reports concentrations of total Hg (both organic and inorganic) in different selected biota (seagrass, gastropods, bivalves and fishes) collected from the coastal regions of deltaic Sundarbans, West Bengal, India. Species-dependent variability is very much distinct where high level of Hg was found in carnivorous species. A high degree of organ specificity was pronounced in case of bivalves where gill and mantle exhibited higher Hg accumulation due to the ion exchange activity of the mucous in these organs. The available data demonstrates the potentiality of the shellfishes as sentinel accumulators of this element and they can be successfully used as sensitive index of pollution. The data also reveals that this coastal zone is getting polluted and necessary preventive measures must be adopted to make the best possible use of the available marine resources.