Effect of Industrial Wastewater on Fish in Karoon River

In 2009, 36 fish were sampled from two stations in the Karoon River near an industrial site. Two species of fish, Barbus grypus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix were analyzed for total mercury (Hg) concentration in liver and muscle tissues. The average concentrations of total Hg in liver of B. grypus were 18.92 and 10.19 μg.g^-1 in stations 1 and 2 respectively. The corresponding values for total Hg in edible muscle of Barbus grypus were 8.47 and 0.08 μg.g^-1. The average concentrations of Hg in the liver of H. molitrix were 25.49 and 12.52 μg.g^-1 in stations 1 and 2 respectively. The values for H. molitrix were 11.88 and 3.2 μg.g^-1 in station 1 and station 2 respectively. The results showed that the bioavailability of Hg has increased considerably after industrialization and that these values were higher than the standard values as a result of anthropogenic activities in the region.