BIOACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS (Zn, Pb, Cd, AND Ni) IN TISSUES OF Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) FROM INDIA

Penaeus monodon (Fabricius), giant tiger shrimp, is commercially important seafood species. Shrimp export from India earned foreign exchange of US$1261.81 million in 2010-11. However, rapid industrialization and urbanization have contaminated the coastal ecosystems to a great extent, which could lead to bioaccumulation of heavy metals in tissues of the tiger shrimp. Consumption of such shrimps may lead to the harmful effect on the health of human. This necessitates establishing the levels of heavy metals in the shrimp. Thus, the study was undertaken with the aim to determine the extent of bioaccumulation of four heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni) in hepatopancreas, gill, carapace, and muscle of the tiger shrimp from Uran coast, Panvel, Raigad district, Maharashtra using a standard atomic absorption Spectrophotometer. The greatest metal accumulation was found to occur in the hepatopancreas, followed by gills, muscle and carapace. Concentration levels of non-essential metals such as Pb, Cd, and Ni were very low compared to essential metals such as Zn. The observed mean concentration of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni in the hepatopancreas of tiger shrimp was 48.978 ± 5.603 ppm, 0.4345 ±0.0841 ppm, 0.381 ±0.0593 ppm, and 0.3905 ±0.0148 ppm ?g g-1 respectively. Gill accumulated largest amount of Zn (23.6945 ±0.1492 ppm), followed by Pb, Cd, and Ni as 0.49 ± 0.0424 ppm, 0.1685 ± 0.2001 ppm, and 0.0866±0.0057 ppm respectively. In muscle, mean concentration of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni was 21.881 ±1.81 ppm, 1.5443 ±1.1086 ppm, 0.1243 ±0.1749 ppm, and 0.0623 ±0.0070 ppm respectively. In the case of Carapace, mean concentration of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni was 8.454 ± 0.523 ppm, 0.211 ±0.1299 ppm, 0.0116 ±0.0115 ppm, and 0.0410 ± 0.010 ppm respectively. All the metal concentrations were found to be below their acceptable international standards, and thus safe for human consumption.