Mercury Detection in Benthic and Pelagic Fish Collected from Western Sicily (Southern Italy)

In highly polluted water, fish can accumulate mercury up to a concentration of 10 mgKg^-1. This has occurred on the eastern coasts of Sicily (Southern Italy), probably due to the intense industrial activity of this area. However, little is known about Hg accumulation in fish of the western Sicilian coasts. In this work, we examined the Hg accumulation of 108 fish samples belonging to 14 species collected from western Sicilian coasts using a direct mercury analyzer. The samples showed a mean mercury concentration of 0.165 ± 0.22 mg kg^-1 with a maximum in Lepidopus caudatus (1.72 mgKg^-1), exceeding the limits provided by EC Reg. 1881/2006. The lowest Hg levels were found in Sparus aurata samples (0.001 mgKg^-1). A significant difference was found between the fish species examined (p < 0.05). The comparison between benthic and pelagic species did not show statistical differences (p < 0.05). Fish food constitutes the main route of Hg uptake for humans. Only four of the 130 samples examined reached a mercury concentration over the European limits. The comparative analysis of Hg pollution for benthic and pelagic species did not confirm a different trend in metal contamination.