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¹ Environment Quality Authority (Palestinian Authority), Gaza Strip, Palestine
² Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, P.O. Box 1277, Gaza Strip, Palestine
³ Palestininan Marine Navigators Association, Gaza Strip, Palestine DOI : 10.4194/1303-2712-v17_1_12 Viewed : 4570 - Downloaded : 5804 The concentrations of manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in the muscles of grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) that were collected from Gaza fishing harbor and the surrounding areas were investigated in this study. Eight sampling locations were selected to conduct the study along the coast of Gaza. The samples were taken in September, November 2013 and March 2014. Heavy metals were identified and analyzed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in soft tissues of fish were as follows: Mn:0.90 μg/g; Cu:13.15 μg/g; Zn:25.87 μg/g; Ni:1.10 μg/g; Co:0.68 μg/g; Pb:1.82 μg/g and Cd:0.27 μg/g, respectively. The highest concentrations of metals in fish tissues were found to be detected for zinc (13.56-40.43 μg/g) and the lowest were for cobalt (nd-2.93 μg/g) and cadmium (0.02-0.51 μg/g). The heavy metal concentrations in most fish samples were found to be below the acceptable limits proposed for fish by various international standards such as European Union (EU), World Health Organization (WHO), and Turkish guidelines (TFC). Therefore, it can be concluded that no risk on human health would be elevated at present from the consumption of fish collected from Gaza fishing harbor. Keywords : Heavy metals, Pollution, Fish, Gaza fishing harbor, Mediterranean Sea