Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL), National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency (NARA), Colombo 15, Sri Lanka.
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Dec;149:110526. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110526. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Mercury (Hg) in fish and aquatic products is a potential threat to human health and international trade, and guidelines of international advisory bodies are established for assessing Hg in these foods. As fish are the most consumed animal protein in Sri Lanka, this assessment summarises for the first-time total mercury concentrations in Sri Lankan marine and freshwater fish, invertebrates, aquatic plants, and fisheries products. It reveals that Hg levels in fish and other edible aquatic species are mostly below the published safety limits, except for certain top trophic level fish (swordfish, tuna, marlin). The review also highlights gaps in Sri Lankan Hg assessments such as a total lack of data for methyl‑mercury in these aquatic species and food products. This data compilation and assessment will serve as an initial baseline for comparison with results from future monitoring and research studies in Sri Lanka while adding to the world-wide Hg database.
鱼类和水产品中的汞（Hg）对人类健康和国际贸易构成潜在威胁，国际咨询机构制定了评估这些食品中汞含量的准则。由于鱼类是斯里兰卡消费最多的动物蛋白，因此，此次评估首次总结了斯里兰卡海洋和淡水鱼类、无脊椎动物、水生植物和渔业产品中的总汞浓度。结果表明，除了某些顶级掠食性鱼类（箭鱼、金枪鱼、马林鱼）外，鱼类和其他可食用水生物种中的汞含量大多低于已公布的安全限值。该综述还强调了斯里兰卡汞评估中的空白，例如这些水生物种和食品中甲基汞的完整数据缺失。该数据汇编和评估将作为与未来在斯里兰卡进行的监测和研究结果进行比较的初始基准，同时也为全球汞数据库增添了内容。
