PESTICIDE LEVELS IN FISH MUSCLE (Chromidotilapia guentheri) FROM IKPOBA RIVER, EDO STATE, NIGERIA.

ABSTRACT

Study of the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in fish muscles (Chromidotilapia guntheri) from Ikpoba river, Benin City, Edo State Nigeria was carried out to assess the contamination profile. Two fish samples were collected for muscle once a month for three consecutive months (June – August, 2019). Pesticides were extracted from the muscle by using the HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography) method. A total of eight pesticides: Heptachlor, o,p-DDT, ᵞ-HCH Lindane, p,p-DDT, Endosulfan I, Endosulfan II, Endosulfan sulphate and Endrin. were investigated. Results from the assessment revealed that mean concentrations of pesticides ranged (µg/kg) from 0 to 0.002 for heptachlor, 0 to 0.007 o,p-DDT and 0 to 0.043 for Endosulfan I.   p,p-DDT, Endosulfan II, Endosulfan sulphate, γ-CHC (Lindane) and Endrin were below the detection limit (BDL). Endosulfan 1 was the most dominant pesticide accounting for 82% of the total pesticide residue in the fish muscle. The result of the study shows that muscle of fish can accumulate pesticide and can serve as a good bio-indicator of fish exposure to pesticides.