African Journal of Food Science and Technology (ISSN: 2141-5455) Vol. 6(4) pp. 098-107, July, 2015 Available online @http://www.interesjournals.org/AJFST DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/ajfst.2015.041 Copyright ©2015 International Research Journals Full Length Research Paper Detection of heavy metals bio-accumulation in scombrids for the determination of possible health hazard Vishwakalyan Bhoyroo, Naajiyah Soobtratty and Bhanooduth Lalljee Department of Agricultural And Food Sciences Faculty of Agriculture University of Mauritius Reduit Mauritius Corresponding email: v.bhoyroo@uom.ac.mu ABSTRACT Concentrations of trace elements zinc, copper, nickel, chromium and heavy metals lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic were detected in the muscle tissues of four commercially edible fishes belonging to the scombridae and related families including yellow fin tuna (Thunnus albacares), Dogtooth tuna (Gymnosarda unicolor), Marlin (Makaira mazara) and the dolphin fish (Coryphaena hippuru) in the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of Mauritius. The concentrations were within the range 1.34-10.03, 0.0-1.42, 0.23-0.89, 0.0-2.43, 0.0, 3.60-5.44, 0.03-0.13 and 0.03-0.07 mg/kg wet weight respectively for summer and winter seasons. Inter-species variations with respect to elemental accumulations were not significantly different as compared to seasonal variations for the accumulation of chromium, zinc and lead. Marlin and Dorado caught during the summer season exceeded the authorised level of chromium in muscle tissues according to international standards. A survey carried out among fish consumers in Mauritius revealed that 80 % of the respondents were ignorant about heavy metal bio-accumulation. Keywords : Mauritius, muscle tissues, heavy metals, yellow fin tuna, Dogtooth tuna, Marlin, Dorado INTRODUCTION Heavy metals pollution in the marine ecosystems is a result of anthropogenic activities such as mining, shipping, agriculture and domestics (Haynes & Johnson, 2000; Islam & Tanaka, 2004). Humans as well as aquatic organisms are under the threat of a rise in heavy metals concentration in the marine environment (Uluturhan et al., 2007; Naji et al., 2010; Bashir et al., 2013). In the last few decades, fishes have been the subject of various studies around the world due to their ability to bio- accumulate heavy metals (Elnabris et al., 2013). In an attempt to reduce possible human health hazards, commercially edible fish species are favoured for studies since the diet is the main route of human exposure to heavy metals (Türkmen et al., 2005; Tepe et al., 2008; Raja et al., 2009; Alina et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2012). Heavy metals that are classified as harmful toxic substances are mercury, arsenic, lead and Cadmium among others. Mercury is considered as one of the most dangerous toxic heavy metal that can have adverse effects on human health. Lead and arsenic affects the reproductive system of women, by displaying toxicity towards the growing foetus (Goeringa et al., 2010) while cadmium builds up in the placenta (Berlin et al., 1992; Moberg et al., 1992; Jarup et al., 1998). Trace elements such as Zinc, Copper, Nickel and Chromium are present in low amount and are important in the human body system (Fraga et al., 2005). However, if present in excess, they acquire toxic properties depending on the absorption, concentration and persistence at their action points (Shanker, 2008) In the island of Mauritius with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of around 1.9 million km, the previous Minister of Fisheries, Nicolas Von-Mally predicted a bloom in the Seafood Hub with investments ranging from Rs 30 billion to Rs 40 million ( Business Mega, 2014 ). Local sea food consumption in Mauritius per capita is