High levels of heavy metals found in Red Sea fishes

Researchers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and China have found that fishes caught on the Jeddah Coast, East side of the Red Sea, have high levels of heavy metals.

The research, published in Saudi Journal of Biological Science, shows that the fish meat have concentration of heavy metals that exceed many international limits.

In particular, they have found high concentration of iron, chromium, cadmium and nickel. These levels are above the limits imposed from EU, USFDA and WHO, even by 200 times in some cases.

The five species analyzed are the brownspotted grouper, squaretail coralgrouper, black pomfret, goldbanded jobfish, and blueskin seabream. These species are important on the Saudi fish market, both for the domestic demand and for exports, therefore these metals could have an impact on the health of many people, with increasing risks related to frequent consumption of these fishes. 

High levels of cadmium can cause coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and chronic human pulmonary disorders, while nickel can cause severe pulmonary health problems, such as lung cancer, fibrosis, emphysema, tumors and kidney diseases.

Researchers explained that Jeddah Coast is an important area for shipping, industry and urbanization in Saudi Arabia, and for years the marine environment was contaminated by untreated industrial discharge, like agricultural evacuation, chemical solvent discharge and petrol-related wastes.

However, the article’s conclusions reports that fishes caught from the Red Sea are generally safe, but frequent consumption could lead to some health problems, so the amount of fishes coming from that area should be controlled by international guidelines.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X2030704X?via%3Dihub