Total mercury and methylmercury levels in some New Zealand commercial marine fish species

Abstract

Two groups of samples spanning 16 years are reported for methylmercury and total mercury. All the samples had been taken from commercial catches and represent 33 different commercially important New Zealand marine fish species. Results show the New Zealand fish species sampled have mean contents of total mercury that range between 0.02 and 2.48 mg kg(-1) and mean contents of methylmercury that range from less than 0.04 to 1.97 mg kg(-1).

Total mercury levels in nine species of freshwater fish from two hydroelectric reservoirs and a crater lake in Ghana

“…People are exposed to methyl mercury primarily by eating fish and the mercury content in fish is considered to be a good indicator for human exposure to organic or methyl mercury. Hg in fish is predominantly in the form of methyl mercury and this has been confirmed in many publications (Love et al 2003;World Health Organisation 1976). Therefore diet consisting of fish could be the main source of human exposure to mercury.…”

“…Extensive surveys have been carried out in a number of countries to evaluate the presence of mercury in the aquatic biota including fish, which can often been considered as a good indicator of aquatic pollution (Lange et al 1994;Nixon et al 1994;Rolfhus and Fitzgerald 1995;Nakagawa et al 1997;Voegborlo et al 2004;Love et al 2003;Storelli et al 2003).…”

Determination of mercury and cadmium levels in omega-3 food supplements available on the Ghanaian market

“…Heavy metal content in fish is a good indicator for human exposure to metal bioaccumulation and has been confirmed in many publications (Love et al, 2003;Goyer, 1997;Adimado and Baah, 2002). This means that the consumption of fish products could be a source of human exposure to heavy metals.…”

“…The different levels of the metals in the omega-3 products may be due to the fact that the oils were from different fishes from different sources at perhaps different (Love et al, 2003), at different factors such as organic matter content, pH, seasonal changes, microbial activities, regional variations and hydrologic conditions as well as the rate of atmospheric deposition (Lindquist, 1991). Different methods of extraction or refining and thermal treatment could also account for the difference in the metal concentrations (Seidler, 1987).…”

Total Mercury Distribution in Different Fish Species Representing Different Trophic levels from the Atlantic Coast of Ghana

“…Extensive surveys have therefore been carried out in a number of countries to evaluate the presence of mercury in the aquatic biota including fish, which can often be considered as an indicator of aquatic pollution (Bahnick and Sauer, 1994;Nixon et al, 1994;Mathieson and McLusky, 1995;Rolfhus and Fitzgerald, 1995;Monteiro et al, 1996;Nakagawa et al, 1997;Lacerda et al, 2000;Storelli et al, 2002;Love et al, 2003;Storelli et al, 2003;Voegborlo et al, 2004). The level of mercury found in a fish is related to the level of mercury in its aquatic environment and its place in the food chain (Monteiro et al, 1996).…”