Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Six Species of Fish Caught Offshore and Landed at the Fishing Port of Boulbinet, Conakry, Republic of Guinea
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitute a major family of organic pollutants found in aquatic environments and capable of affecting marine ecosystems as well as human health. They pose a toxic risk due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. The Guinean coastline, which has been subject to significant human pressure in recent years due to port, urban, mining, industrial and fishing activities, represents an environment potentially exposed to these contaminants. This study, the first of its kind in Guinea, aims to assess the levels of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in six of the most commonly consumed fish species landed at the fishing port of Boulbinet in Conakry. The species studied are: Dentex congoensis, Galeoidesdecadactylus, Sardinella aurita, Ethmalosa fimbriata, Pseudotolithus senegalensis and Decapterus punctatus. The results of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that, of the 16 PAHs investigated, only five molecules were identified in the samples studied, namely: fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene. With the exception of Decapterus punctatus, pyrene and fluoranthene were detected at low concentrations (ranging from 0.11 to 0.58 μg/kg) in the five fish species, whilst no fluorene was found in the fish Ethmalosa fimbriata and Pseudotolithus senegalensis. Low levels of anthracene and phenanthrene were measured in Sardinella aurita and Ethmalosa fimbriata. This illustrates the ability of fish to metabolise and excrete aromatic hydrocarbons and helps to explain the low concentrations measured in the muscle tissue. However, the average concentrations measured in muscle tissue remain broadly in line with international regulatory thresholds, particularly those established by European regulations, which do not set a specific upper limit for fresh, unsmoked fish. These results therefore suggest that, as things stand, the fish studied do not pose a major health risk to consumers. This study highlights the need to include multiple biological tissues in environmental biomonitoring programmes in order to obtain a more comprehensive assessment of chemical contamination in marine species. Further in-depth investigations are required to better understand the level of PAH contamination in fish species along the Guinean coast.
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