Mercury Concentration in Tissues of Blue Swimming Crab, Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Sediments from Persian Gulf Coasts, Iran

Persian Gulf supports diverse ecosystems and biota in need of remediation and protection and metal data from this region is needed. The levels of mercury in tissues of blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus and sediments from the Persian Gulf coasts, south Iran were investigated. Mercury analysis was performed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The distribution pattern of mercury in the tissues of crab and sediments was as follows: sediment > hepatopancreas > muscle > exoskeleton. Total mercury levels in the tissues of P. pelagicus from the other six sampling stations ranged between (4.70±0.80 μg/g) and (0.29±0.22 μg/g). Results showed that there were negligible differences in Hg levels between sexes. There were no significant differences in mercury levels between sexes of P. pelagicus. Maximum concentration of the total mercury in sediments and all tissues of P. pelagicus observes in Bahrekan station (P<0.05). There was no significant differences (P<0.05) between the level of mercury in the tissues of the crab P. pelagicus. Differences in Hg levels could have resulted from diverse pollution source, ecological particularity, industries and human activities.