Dexter Roquero,
University of Southern Mindanao,Philippines
Title: Quantitative assessment of total Mercury concentration in the different edible parts of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in general santos city fish port complex
Biography
Biography: Dexter Roquero,
Abstract
Economic activities are generally exploitative and harmful to the environment, posing a threat to all living organisms. Some species' extinctions have been linked to industrialization, specifically the pollutants emitted by factories into the terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments. Because marine waters are contiguous and constantly moving due to tidal fluctuations, contaminated effluents eventually reach estuaries and coastal waters and are dispersed in seas and oceans. The proximate compositions of the different edible parts of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) back, belly, and tail meat were assessed in order to relate the trend to the total mercury concentration, which was determined using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (CV-AAS). The mean percentages of yellowfin tuna proximate composition in different edible parts (back, belly, and tail meat) range from 70.77 to 73.21% moisture, 4.75 to 5.19% ash, 1.43 to 3.04% crude fat, and 20.00 to 22.60% crude fat (crude protein). Total mercury concentration was 0.04ppm in the back meat and 0.03ppm in the belly and tail meat. The tail and belly meats had the highest percentages of moisture and crude fat. Furthermore, the back meat had the highest crude protein and ash content. The proximate composition of the fish is consistent with the findings of published articles, and the total mercury concentrations in the various edible parts are within the allowable threshold limit set by various regulatory agencies.