Evaluate the Health Condition of Some Economic Fish Species After Purification and Development Operations in Burullus Wetland

Burullus Wetland has recently witnessed major cleansing and development operations to rehabilitate the lake from severe pollution. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the health and physiological status of some economic fish species caught from the wetland. The present investigation determined the content of Cd, Pb, As, and Cr in the muscle tissues of eight fish species caught from the studied area, Oreochromis niloticus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Oreochromis aureus, Coptodon zillii, Chelon auratus, Liza ramada, Dicentrarchus punctatus, and Poecilia reticulata by using ICP-OES inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The results showed that the accumulations of Cd, Pb, As and Cr in muscle tissue were 0.005-0.009, 0.012-0.050, 0.011-0.028, and 0.017-0.043µg/ g wet weight tissues, respectively. The fish metal pollution index (MPI) decreased in the order, O. aureus˃ C. auratus ˃  P. reticulata  ˃ O. niloticus ˃ S. galilaeus ˃  D. punctatus ˃ L. ramada ˃ C. zillii. The activities of Na⁺/K⁺ and Ca²⁺ATPases enzymes in muscle, and gill showed significant differences (P<0.05) between the examined species and non-significant differences in the liver (P˃0.05) among examined species. The minimum activity appeared in O. aureus in muscle and gill tissues. Moreover, antioxidant defense systems (SOD, CAT, and total thiol) showed significant differences (P<0.05) in the muscle tissue of the examined species. Conclusively, this study highlighted the state of the health of some fish species after purification and development operations in Burullus Wetland.