title: Site-wise mercury accumulation in fish from Thane creek and Ulhas river estuary in the vicinity of Mumbai: influence of environmental factors.
abstract: They indigenous fishing folk inhabiting the villages along Thane creek and Ulhas river estuary in the vicinity of Mumbai, India rely on the local fish catch for their daily sustenance. But these water bodies are under considerable pollution stress due to the indiscriminate release of industrial effluents and domestic wastewater from their vicinity. A site-wise study on levels of mercury, a hazardous toxin, in commonly consumed fish among five villages along these water bodies was conducted. Stations located towards the riverine end of Ulhas river estuary, Wehele and Alimgarh, exhibited higher levels of fish Hg (0.2-1.6 μg/g) compared to the station at the seaward end, Diwe-Kewni (0.03-0.75 μg/g). Fish from stations, Vittawa and Airoli, located along Thane creek accumulated Hg relatively at moderate levels (0.15-0.96 μg/g). The influencing factors for bioaccumulation of mercury in fish were proximity to the sources of mercury, salinity, hardness, DO, BOD and pH of the water.
authors.forename: Jayashree
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menon
authors.forename: Sarita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahajan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063366:Estuaries; D005399:Fishes; D007194:India; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury