Ecology & Safety, Volume 17, 2023

Streszczenie: Seafood is the main source of food in many countries due to its healthy nutrients. Fishes and grabs are essential sources of human body proteins. Moreover, omega 3 present in these animals is essential for the human brain and heart. Saudi Arabia is a growing country in the Gulf region and many people depend on the seafood obtained from the red sea. Marine pollution due to toxic metal ions is a natural phenomenon owing to anthropogenic and industrial activities. Consequently, fishes and grabs are al- ways at risk with the assimilation of toxic metal ions in the marine system. The present study deals with the concentrations of the most toxic metal ions viz. Cr (III), Co (II), Hg(II), Pb (II), Se (II), Ba (II), Mn (II), Li (I), As (III), Al (III), Cd (II) Ni (II), V (III), Cu (II), Fe (II), and Zn (II) found in fish and grabs. Fishes and grabs were collected from three different locations of the Red Sea i.e. Yanbu, Al Qunfudhah and Jazan, Western Saudi Arabia. These metal ions were detected in the gills and muscles of all fish species (Sardinella longiceps, Carangoides spp, and Herklotsichthys spp.) along with crabs (Portunus pelagicus). The concentrations of Zn (II) and Fe (II) metal ions were higher in the gills of the grabs than in fishes. However, the concentrations are not exceeded the international permissible limits. The highest concentrations of the metal ions were found in Yanbu reason, which may be due to being close to the industrial area. In addition, the concentrations of V (III) and As (III) in the fish muscles collected from Jazan were high i.e. 6.435 and 3.291 mg/kg respectively. In Al Qunfudhah, the concentration of Cd (II) was high in the gill fish i.e. 0.08432 mg/kg. The lowest and the highest concentrations of metals were in fish muscles and gills, respectively. Therefore, the metal ions were accumulated in the gills. This study highlighted the toxicities of metal ions and their sources of contamination.