In this study, muscle samples gathered from Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus Linneaus, 1758) and Savali hairtail [Lepturacanthus savala (Cuvier, 1829)] from the Karachi Fish Harbour, Pakistan were analyzed to determine heavy metal concentrations (iron [Fe], zinc [Zn], copper [Cu], manganese [Mn], lead [Pb] and cadmium [Cd]) between January and December 2016. All samples were analyzed using the AAnalyst 700 Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. It was observed that the average measured level of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb and Cd in muscle were 77.72 ± 47.84 µg/g, 20.34 ± 8.49 µg/g, 2.23 ± 1.16 µg/g, 0.57 ± 0.36 µg/g, 0.20 ± 0.16 µg/g and 0.42 ± 0.19 µg/g for T. lepturus, respectively. Besides, the average level of the same metal concentrations in muscle for L. savala were 85.11 ± 57.64 µg/g, 16.63 ± 9.25 µg/g, 2.53 ± 1.90 µg/g, 0.47 ± 0.27 µg/g, 0.23 ± 0.18 µg/g and 0.47 ± 0.20 µg/g, respectively. The correlation between size groups and metal accumulation in muscle tissues were investigated for both fish. In terms of public risk assessment, the provisional tolerable weekly intake's of various heavy metals were compared with the consumption of both fish. As a result of the analysis, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb and Cd accumulations in muscle tissues of T. lepturus and L. savala collected from Karachi Fish Harbour Pakistan did not exceed limit values.
Keywords: Heavy metal accumulation; Karachi Fish Harbour; Lepturacanthus savala; Muscles, fishes; Pakistan; Trichiurus lepturus.