Total mercury in sharks along the southern Brazilian Coast. Mársico, E., Machado, M., Knoff, M., & São Clemente, S. Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zootec, 596:1593-1596, 2007.
abstract   bibtex   
Since the discovery that Minamata disease was originated from the consumption of fish contaminated with organic mercury from industrial pollution, the study of poisoning by mercury has received wide attention with an increased number of studies on fish caught for human consumption. Top predators species, such as sharks, have been pointed out as indicator of heavy metals in the environment, and they frequently contain the highest concentrations, even in unpolluted areas. Heavy metals concentrations in sharks have been widely studied in several areas, but very little information is available on species from the Southern Brazilian coast. Various regulatory agencies have set limits on mercury levels in fish and shellfish, to attempt to safeguard public health. Mercury concentrations above the regulatory limits have been observed in several cases. According to Andersen and Depledge (1997), the limit of 0.5µg.g -1 by wet wt, recommended for mercury in seafood by WHO (Environmental…, 1976), is frequently exceeded in long-lived species and/or in species from high trophic levels. It is generally accepted that consumption of fish is the most significant route of human exposure to environmental mercury (Fujiki and Tajima, 1992). Mercury in fish is found almost totally as methylmercury and the toxic effects of its ingestion can result in serious and permanent damage to the central nervous systems and also can pass through the placental barrier, endangering the human foetus (Galli and Restani, 1993). Due to its reactivity with sulfur-containing amino acids, mercury is stored in fish protein matrices, rather than in fatty tissues (Harris et al., 2003). Mercury acquisition, accumulation, and biomagnification in fish are associated with both Hg chemical form and fish feeding-behavior (Hoyle and Handy, 2005) and carnivorous fish at the top of the chain acquire large amounts of Methyl-mercury that are bioaccumulated as a function of fish size (Barbosa et al., 2003). The primary purpose of this paper is to supply data on mercury accumulation in three shark species inhabiting the Southern Brazilian coast, considering variation of mercury concentration among individuals and the relationship between mercury content and size of the fish. Samples of 39 sharks from three species were collected and captured about 50m deep, 190 miles of the coast of Santa Catarina State (27°08'S-28°38'S and 45°30'W-46°53'W) by professional fishermen of Kiyomã tuna fish boat. Species and total length of each shark were recorded. On board, fish muscle samples were taken about 2.0cm below the epidermis, weighted, measured and stored in plastic bags, maintained cool onto ice and then frozen at -20 o C, until analysis. All glassware used was acid-washed, soaked in a 3%HNO 3 solution for 24h, and rinsed with distilled water. To correct for possible mercury contamination of reagents, blanks were determined with each set of samples
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 title = {Total mercury in sharks along the southern Brazilian Coast},
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 year = {2007},
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 abstract = {Since the discovery that Minamata disease was originated from the consumption of fish contaminated with organic mercury from industrial pollution, the study of poisoning by mercury has received wide attention with an increased number of studies on fish caught for human consumption. Top predators species, such as sharks, have been pointed out as indicator of heavy metals in the environment, and they frequently contain the highest concentrations, even in unpolluted areas. Heavy metals concentrations in sharks have been widely studied in several areas, but very little information is available on species from the Southern Brazilian coast. Various regulatory agencies have set limits on mercury levels in fish and shellfish, to attempt to safeguard public health. Mercury concentrations above the regulatory limits have been observed in several cases. According to Andersen and Depledge (1997), the limit of 0.5µg.g -1 by wet wt, recommended for mercury in seafood by WHO (Environmental…, 1976), is frequently exceeded in long-lived species and/or in species from high trophic levels. It is generally accepted that consumption of fish is the most significant route of human exposure to environmental mercury (Fujiki and Tajima, 1992). Mercury in fish is found almost totally as methylmercury and the toxic effects of its ingestion can result in serious and permanent damage to the central nervous systems and also can pass through the placental barrier, endangering the human foetus (Galli and Restani, 1993). Due to its reactivity with sulfur-containing amino acids, mercury is stored in fish protein matrices, rather than in fatty tissues (Harris et al., 2003). Mercury acquisition, accumulation, and biomagnification in fish are associated with both Hg chemical form and fish feeding-behavior (Hoyle and Handy, 2005) and carnivorous fish at the top of the chain acquire large amounts of Methyl-mercury that are bioaccumulated as a function of fish size (Barbosa et al., 2003). The primary purpose of this paper is to supply data on mercury accumulation in three shark species inhabiting the Southern Brazilian coast, considering variation of mercury concentration among individuals and the relationship between mercury content and size of the fish. Samples of 39 sharks from three species were collected and captured about 50m deep, 190 miles of the coast of Santa Catarina State (27°08'S-28°38'S and 45°30'W-46°53'W) by professional fishermen of Kiyomã tuna fish boat. Species and total length of each shark were recorded. On board, fish muscle samples were taken about 2.0cm below the epidermis, weighted, measured and stored in plastic bags, maintained cool onto ice and then frozen at -20 o C, until analysis. All glassware used was acid-washed, soaked in a 3%HNO 3 solution for 24h, and rinsed with distilled water. To correct for possible mercury contamination of reagents, blanks were determined with each set of samples},
 bibtype = {article},
 author = {Mársico, Et and Machado, Mes and Knoff, M and São Clemente, SC},
 journal = {Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zootec},
 keywords = {E0474,GBMS}
}

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