Seven heavy metals including Hg, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, and As were examined in seventeen marine nekton species from the outer Pearl River Estuary (PRE), South China Sea. On the wet weight basis, the metal concentration ranges were 0.016-0.157 μg/g for Hg, 0.18-14.3 μg/g for Cu, 0.26-1.48 μg/g for Pb, 0.021-0.873 μg/g for Cd, 1.35-57.15 μg/g for Zn, 0.15-0.53 μg/g for Cr, and 0.42-7.83 μg/g for As, respectively. The levels of tested metals except for Pb in crustaceans were found to be higher than those in fish and cephalopods, suggesting that the diet and habitat played important roles on heavy metal accumulation ability of marine organism. Except for Cd in Champsodon capensis, Calappa lophos, and Portunus argentatus, all the left metal concentrations of investigated nekton species were below their permissible upper limits, indicating that consumption of examined marine nekton should be considered as safe for human health. The values of single target hazard quotient (THQ) and total THQ were all less than 1 and also suggested that there was no health risk for consumption. Even so, the local people should control their daily intake of crustacean foods from the outer PRE, since there might be potential As and Cd cumulative risks.
Keywords: Demersal nekton; Heavy metal; Human health risk; Outer Pearl River Estuary.