Distribution of metal mercury in tuna (Thunnus albacares) and weaker fish (Cynoscion microlepidotus) captured in Rio de Janeiro coast, Brazil

The mercuric kinetic in organs, muscular tissue, and stomach contents of two species of marine fish predators was evaluated by the identification of the places showing higher accumulation of the metal. For the analytical process, the used technique was cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The results demonstrated that the distribution of Hg in the analyzed portions presented wiede dispersion. For Thunnus albacares, the variation was of 0.004 mu g center dot g(-1) in the liver, gills and spleen, and 0.172 mu g center dot g(-1) in the muscular tissue. For Cynoscion microlepidotus, the variation was between 0.013 mu g center dot g(-1) in gills and 0.250 mu g center dot g(-1) in muscular tissue. The latter was the portion of higher concentration of this metal in both species, T. albacares = 0.080 +/- 0.050 mu g center dot g(-1) and C. microlepidotus = 0.187 +/- 0.030 mu g center dot g(-1), while less concentrations were found in the gills (0.029 +/- 0.031 mu g center dot g(-1)) in C. microlepidotus and in the eyes (0.013 +/- 0.008 mu g center dot g(-1)) in T. albacares.