Trace metals in tissues of the six most common fish species in the Black Sea, Turkey

Concentrations of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, As, Se, Cd, Ag and Pb in scale, skin, muscle, gills, liver and the gonads of Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Black Sea salmon (Salmo trutta labrax), Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), Red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and Whiting (Merlangius merlangius euxinus) from the Black Sea, in Turkey, were investigated. Elemental analyses were performed with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after sample preparation by microwave digestion. Mean metal concentrations in different tissues were in the following ranges: Mn 0.09-23.1, Fe 0.58-326, Co 0.01-0.22, Ni 0.03-1.34, As 0.13-3.40, Se 0.13-4.42, Ag 0.01-0.18, Cd 0.32-6.25, Pb 0.02-0.38mgkg(-1) wet weight. Metal concentrations in the muscles of the examined species were generally lower than those in scale, skin, gills, liver and the gonads. The described method was validated by analysis of Dogfish Liver-certified reference material, DOLT-4.