Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in some Fishes from Jizan Area, Southern Red Sea

Three fish species were collected from Jizan area, Southern Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. These were Safi, Beda and Parrot. They were subjected to study the presence of chlorinated hydrocarbons in liver, muscle, gill, gut and kidney tissues of these species. Chlorinated pesticides and PCBs were examined y GC and GC-MS and quantification was achieved. The results showed the presence of these chemicals in studied species indicating minimum of 0.6 ng g dry wt to a maximum of 436 ng g dry wt. The highest level of chlorinated hydrocarbons was found in liver followed by kidney and gut tissues, while the lowest was found in muscle and gill tissues. The results revealed a certain degree of pollution which can be a risk to human and marine organisms. It is necessary to point out that this is the first attempt to measure the levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons in Red Sea fishes, therefore similar studies in Red Sea environment should be carried out in the near future in order to confirm the present results and to identify the sources of such contamination.