Metals levels in Sarda orientalis collected from the commercial landings of Karachi Fish Harbor, Pakistan (northern Arabian Sea) and assessment of likely health risks to the consumers

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are the major source of chemical pollutants including heavy metals in the coastal ecosystem which may accumulate in the aquatic organisms through the food web. Metal contamination in the marine fish pose serious threat to human health. This study deals with the human health risks of metal accumulation from Sarda orientalis consumption. The quantities of heavy metals were investigated in muscle, gills, and liver of striped bonito from the commercial landings of Karachi Fish Harbor, Pakistan (northern Arabian Sea). Risk for human health was evaluated by iron, zinc, manganese, copper, lead, cadmium, estimated daily intake, hazard index, and risk index. The hazard index value is <1, indicating that the estimated exposure is below reference dose for the relevant metals for monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon. The mean hazard index for iron, zinc, manganese, copper, lead, and cadmium was 1.20 × 10⁻² for consumers. The mean risk index of lead for S. orientalis was 7.39 × 10⁻⁹. As a result, the metals did not exceed the World Health Organization’s and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s toxicological reference.

Keywords:

• Hazard index
• Karachi Coast
• metals
• risk index
• Sarda orientalis

Acknowledgments

The authors thank to Marine Reference Collection and Resources Centre, University of Karachi for given the lab facilities, supporting in field sampling, data collection, sample preparation, and sample analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data sets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.