Assessment of Heavy Metals on African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Some Fish Ponds in Emene, Enugu State, South-East Nigeria
Tabugbo Blessing Ifeyinwa
Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Matthew Onyema Agu
Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Vincent Nwalieji Okafor *
Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Ikechukwu Emmanuel Mbam
Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The research was conducted to determine the presence and bioaccumulation pattern of some heavy metals in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from three fish ponds in Emene, Enugu State, South-East Nigeria. Fish samples used for the analysis were collected during the dry season from Tollex, Sopulu and Nduka pond farms. The analysis of heavy metals: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), in C. gariepinus gills and muscles was carried out using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) after digestion with concentrated HCl. Results of the analysis show that the investigated heavy metal in the fish samples from the ponds on the basis of their average concentration followed the order: Sopulu pond > Nduka pond > Tollex pond with highest concentration (7.427 ppm of Fe) found in the gill of fish from Sopulu fish pond and lowest concentration (0.013 ppm of Cd) in the muscle of fish from Tollex fish farm. The study has shown that there was a considerable amount of heavy metals in the muscle and gills of catfish from Tollex, Nduka and Sopulu fish farms.
Keywords: Toxic metal, Clarias gariepinus, fish pond, atomic absorption spectrometry, Emene-Enugu