Microplastic pollution and heavy metal risk assessment in Perca fluviatilis from Anzali wetland: Implications for environmental health and human consumption

The worldwide increase of anthropogenic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems has raised concerns, particularly heavy metals and microplastics (MPs), posing potential health risks for aquatic organisms. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Hg, Zn, Mn, As, V, Co, Cr, Fe, and Se) and MPs in the muscle, liver, and gills of Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus 1758 from Anzali Wetland during the autumn-winter 2021 and spring-summer 2022 periods. The mean concentration of metals in the muscle was lower than that in the liver and gills. The highest level of metal in the liver, gills, and muscle was related to Fe (4.049 ± 1.192, 3.605 ± 0.878, and 3.459 ± 0.895 μg/g, respectively), while the lowest concentration in the muscle was related to Co (0.011 ± 0.004 μg/g), and in the liver and gills was related to Se (0.013 ± 0.004 and 0.012 ± 0.003 μg/g, respectively) and As (0.013 ± 0.004 and 0.012 ± 0.004 μg/g, respectively). The concentration of metals in summer was higher than in other seasons. The Hazard Index (HI) and Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) values below 1 indicate that consuming this fish does not pose any risk to consumers in terms of metal contamination. Moreover, MPs were identified in the gills of all fish, while no MPs were found in the muscle and liver. The mean number of MPs in the gills was 3.5 ± 1.02 item/individual, and the number of MPs in spring (4.6 ± 0.84 item/individual) was higher than in autumn, winter and summer (4.2 ± 1.22, 3 ± 1.63, and 2.4 ± 0.51 item/individual, respectively). The MPs were dominated by fiber in shape, black in color, 300-1000 μm in size, and nylon in polymer. No significant correlation was found between metal concentrations and MPs, except for Co.