THE CONCENTRATION OF MERCURY, COPPER, NICKEL, 



SILVER, CADMIUM, AND LEAD IN THE NORTHERN ADRIATIC 



ANCHOVY, ENGRAC/L/S ENCRASICHOLUS, AND 



SARDINE, SARDINA PILCHARDUS 



Malvern Gilmartin' and Noelia Revelante^ 



ABSTRACT 



Levels of mercury, copper, nickel, silver, cadmium, and lead were determined in various tissues 

 of the northern Adriatic anchovy, Engraulis encrasicholus , and sardine, Sardina pilchardus. 

 throughout a 7-month fishing season. The highest concentrations of nickel, silver, cadmium, and 

 lead occurred in the skin and gills, with little interspecific differences and no unusually high 

 values. The highest concentrations of mercury and copper occurred in internal tissues, with the 

 anchovy showing markedly higher concentrations than the sardine. Total mercury concentrations 

 in anchovy muscle ranged from 70 to 215 nanograms per gram wet weight, concentrations 2-4x 

 greater than in the same or similar anchovy species off northwestern Africa, southeastern United 

 States, and California. 



The Adriatic Sea extends 800 km into the heart- 

 land of the European continent, and is bordered 

 by Italy, Yugoslavia, and Albania. The extended 

 coastal shelf of the northern portion is an impor- 

 tant fishery region, exploited heavily by both 

 Italy and Yugoslavia. 



Unfortunately, vdth restricted exchange to the 

 open Mediterranean, the Adriatic displays many 

 of the characteristics of a narrow trapped sea. 

 Furthermore, the shallow northern region re- 

 ceives industrial wastes disproportionate to its 

 area from large industrial centers located along 

 the eastern coast at Rijeka and Pula, Yugoslavia, 

 and more extensive industrial concentrations on 

 the Gulf of Trieste and the western coast near 

 Venice, Italy. More significantly, the Reno, Po, 

 Adige, and Isonzo rivers discharge their industrial 

 pollutant loads into the northern Adriatic. The 

 Po alone is the second largest and perhaps most 

 heavily polluted river entering the entire Mediter- 

 ranean, and has a drainage area more than three- 

 quarters the total area of the Adriatic itself. In 

 1972, 76 plants were discharging their waste 

 water directly or indirectly into the Venice lagoon, 

 and 10,000 of the 64,000 hectares of the lagoon 

 were considered seriously polluted. Consequently, 



'Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, P.O. Box 1104, 

 Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia. 



^Center for Marine Research, Institute "Rudjer Boskovic," 

 52210 Rovinj, Yugoslavia. 



Manuscript accepted May 1974. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 1, 1975. 



it is estimated that about 70% of the total organic 

 load of industrial waste entering the Adriatic 

 Sea from the west is concentrated in the northern 

 part of the sea (General Fisheries Council for 

 the Mediterranean 1972). 



In contrast, although the deeply indented 

 eastern coast has more than tvsdce the shoreline 

 of the western coast, population density and in- 

 dustrialization are markedly lower, and no major 

 rivers flow into the Adriatic from the east. 

 However, the level of industrialization and popu- 

 lation density is increasing on both coasts of the 

 Adriatic, and already the level of some heavy 

 metals (e.g. mercury) in water and edible marine 

 organisms in the open Adriatic may be at, or 

 even slightly above, the acceptable safety level 

 (General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean 

 1972). 



Recent research has drawn attention to the 

 increasing hazards of heavy metal pollution in 

 the marine environment (Ruivo 1972). Conti- 

 nental shelf fisheries, such as those of the shallow 

 northern Adriatic, are especially threatened by 

 these materials since large amounts can be intro- 

 duced into restricted areas by coastal waste water 

 runoff and the fallout of aerosols. 



Therefore, a preliminary survey of the levels 

 of mercury and copper, and the potentially toxic 

 metals nickel, silver, cadmium, and lead in the 

 sardine Sardina pilchardus Walbaum and the 



193 



