Assessment of elemental composition in commercial fish of the Bay of Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The assessment of trace metal content in our fish diet is important due to the adverse effect on human health. Despite the increasing interest about the fish quality, little information is available for Southern Spain, a region characterized by high seafood intake. Nine species from the Bay of Cádiz with high commercial value were selected. Similar values were measured in the nine studied species for most of the elements, except for the macroelements Ca and S, and the microelements Fe, Mn and As, which showed significant differences among species. Metal Pollution Index (MPI) did not differ among species, and it was similar to those obtained for other Atlantic and Mediterranean locations. The values measured for the nine species were below the health limits provided by World, European and Spanish legislations, indicating that, in general terms, consumption of these species is safe in the study area.