Toxic metals and essential microelements level in brown shrimp Crangon crangon (Linnaeus, 1758) from Bulgarian Black Sea coast as a biomonitor Southern and Northern

Abstract

In the current study, the concentration of trace elements (Zn, Mn) and toxic metals (As, Pb, Cd, Hg, Al) were determined in the tissues of the brown shrimp Crangon crangon (Linnaeus, 1758). The samples were collected during the summer and autumn seasons from the Bulgarian Black Sea (Varna and Burgas areas) in 2020 and 2021. Variations of chemical element concentrations with seasons and regions are compared. In all samples, Cd and Hg levels were under the legal limit for human consumption as indicated by European Regulation. The concentration of Pb exceeds the permissible limit in the tissues of shrimps caught from the Southern Black Sea (summer season 2021). Higher values of Zn and lower values of Mn were observed in the samples from the North. The Black Sea shrimp could be used as a biomonitoring species to assess seasonal changes in marine chemical pollution in Bulgaria.