Abstract

In the present study, the golden grey mullet Chelon auratus (Risso, 1810) were captured from Sinop shores of the southern Black Sea coasts and analyzed for toxic metals in liver, gills and muscle tissues. Among studied toxic metals, Pb had highest mean concentration in gills compare to either liver or muscles. On the other hand highest amounts of Hg and Cd were observed in liver. The minimum amounts of toxic metals were found in the edible tissues. The mean amounts of Pb, Hg and Cd in the edible tissues of C. auratus were 0.061±0.012, 0.034±0.009 and 0.015±0.008mg/kg wet wt., respectively. It was shown that the estimated metal dose values for daily average consumption and hazard index in the edible tissues of fish samples were below safety levels for human consumption. 

Keywords

toxic metals, chelon auratus, black sea, estimated daily intakes, hazard index, toxic metal, fish species, statistical package