Mercury content of Sardinella lemuru caught in East Java and Bali waters

Abstract

Abstract Sardinella lemuru is a small pelagic fish which is mostly caught in Java and Bali waters. It is important because of its high Omega-3 fatty acid. As pelagic fish that are found in relatively shallow waters and near the coast, it could be contaminated from the land. The purpose of this study is to analyse the mercury content of S. lemuru caught in three fishing ground in East Java (Prigi and Muncar) and Bali (Kedonganan). Fish samples were taken by random sampling and collected from November 2019 to March 2020 and analysed for mercury content using the Cold Rapoun Atomic Fluorescence method using the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) Shimadzu AA-6200. Furthermore, the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and Maximum Tolerable Intake (MTI) are calculated. The results showed that mercury concentration in S. lemuru were 0.938 ± 0.45 mg/kg and 0.58 ± 0.65 mg/kg for Kedonganan and Prigi, respectively. While, there is undetected mercury for Muncar fish samples. The mercury concentration identified are above the Indonesia standards (SNI and BPOM = 0.5mg/kg). Moreover, the EDI value was higher than Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake -WHO. The mean value of MTI is 0.121 mg/week. If fish contaminated mercury was consumed in one week exceeds the MTI value, the heavy metal could affect the human health.