Heavy metal levels in fish, invertebrates, zooplankton, sea grass and sediment from Sinop coasts of the Black Sea

The concentrations of some heavy metals in total zooplankton, seagrass (Zostera marina), mussel(Mytilus galloprovincialis), sea snail (Rapana venosa), crab (Eriphia verrucosa), fishes (Mullus barbatus, Merlangius merlangus euxinus, Trachurusmediterraneus, Liza aurata)and sediment from the Sinop coasts of the Black Sea have been measured for monitoring metal pollution between 2011 and 2013. Significant differences in metal concentrations were found between the species (P<0.05).In general, it was found that the levels of heavy metals studied in mussel, sea snail, crab and fish were lower than the maximum permissible limit of the food regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the Turkish Food Codex and Commission Regulation (EC). Heavy metal concentrations recorded in the middle of Turkish Black Sea zooplankton, sea grass and sediment may be used as background levels for future studies.The results of the present study were compared with the other studies and discussed.