Concentrations of some heavy metals in tissues of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, from the lagoon of the North Eastern Mediterranean Sea

The concentrations of Cu, Pb, Hg, Fe and Zn were determined in three different tissues (claw, breast meat and hepatopancreas) of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, from Agyatan lagoon, North Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Significant differences between tissues were detected for all metals studied. The Cu, Pb, and Hg levels in the claw meat of C. sapidus were found to be high, in comparison with those in the breast meat and hepatopancreas. The ranges of metal concentrations (µg/g wet weight) were 10.31, 6.93 and 3.62 for Cu, 0.39, 0.14 and 0.21 for Pb, 0.06, 0.04 and 0.04 for Hg, 0.49, 0.80 and 0.86 for Fe, and 56.35, 46.26 and 55.22 for Zn in the claw, breast meat and hepatopancreas, respectively. The concentrations of the analysed heavy metals in the edible parts of C. sapidus were found to be below the limits proposed by FAO