Mercury Concentrations in Tuna (Thunnus albacares and Thunnus obesus) from the Brazilian Equatorial Atlantic Ocean.

Average total Hg concentrations measured in muscle of two species of tuna (Thunnus obesus and T. albacares) captured in the Brazilian Equatorial Atlantic Ocean varied from 95 to 1748 ng.g(-1) wet weight in T. obesus and 48 to 500 ng.g(-1) wet weight in T. albacares. Higher concentrations in T. obesus are probably related to foraging on deep water carnivorous fish. Smaller individuals of both species showed the lowest concentrations, but a significant positive relationship between fish weight and length and Hg concentrations was found for T. obesus, but not for T. albacares. Largest individuals (>30 kg) of T. obesus showed Hg concentrations ≥1000 ng.g(-1), surpassing the legal limits for human consumption, although the average concentration for this species was much lower (545 ng.g(-1)). Concentrations in T. albacares from the Brazilian Equatorial were lower than those found in the African and in the North Atlantic. No comparison could be made for T. obesus due to few studies for this species in the Atlantic Ocean.