Assessment of some heavy metals in the selected freshwater fish species collected from Veeranam Lake Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India

The present study was conducted to assessment the some heavy metals, chromium, cadmium, copper, lead, iron, zinc and manganese concentrations in gill, liver, kidney, intestine and muscle of the selected freshwater fish Tilapia mossambica, Claris batrachus, Labeo rohita, Mystus vittatus and Cyprinus carpio communis of the Veeranam Lake Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, India collected between January 2010- December 2010. Heavy metals concentrations varied in significantly depending upon the type of fish tissues and locations. In the selected freshwater fish, liver tissues appeared to have significantly highest level of chromium followed by Cd, Cu, Pb, Fe, Zn and Mn. The maximum level of chromium in liver tissue followed by the gill, kidney and intestine was found in the of Tilapia mossambica, Claris batrachus, Labeo rohita, Mystus vittatus and Cyprinus carpio communis while the minimum level of manganese was observed in the muscle tissue of Tilapia mossambica, Claris batrachus, Labeo rohita, Mystus vittatus and Cyprinus carpio communis. These levels of metals higher in the fish tissue may be due to increased fertilizers, agricultural wastes, industrial effluents and some anthropogenic activities high in the investigated area.