Background: While fish is well-known for its nutritional importance due to the omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and high-quality proteins, it might pose dangers such as heavy metals that may present a serious threat to fish consumption. Increased concentrations of metals in aquatic species result from atmospheric pollution and industrial effluents continuously draining into nearby water bodies. When metals surpass their allowed limits, a severe health risk might ensue.
Aim of the Work: The assessment of Copper (Cu), lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn), in some selected commonly consumed fish species caught from Qatif, Dammam, and Jubail in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
Materials and Methods: Fish species from the Arabian Gulf area were analyzed using Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for quantitative evaluation of Copper (Cu), lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn) to assess potential toxicity of four metals to humans via consumption of fish caught the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia shores.
Results: Jubail recorded significantly higher metal concentrations than the other two regions. There was a statistically significant difference between the Cd concentrations in marine species and tissues in Jubail and those in Dammam and Qatif for the same species and tissues. The highest recorded levels of Cd were found in the eggs of mullet > shrimp > summer flounder > cuttlefish in the Jubail region.
Conclusion:
The current findings imply the necessity for toxicological evaluations of human populations in the Jubail region who consume substantial quantities of fish for indicators of heavy metal toxicity.