ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF FISHES GROWN IN TREATED DOMESTIC SEWAGE

SURESH V. INAKOLLU
ASWANI WANGANEO

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DOI: 10.2190/MN0A-PUCU-28X3-H8HV

Abstract

Published records on the use of effluent water from domestic sewage in fish production date back to the early parts of the twentieth century. The present series of investigations was aimed at assessing fish contamination from sewage maturation ponds in tropical regions of India. Our field studies have shown that fish prefer regions with high nutrient content. Toxicological investigations accordingly should be carried out at very high concentrations of wastewater contamination. The incidence of bacterial contamination was high in all wastewater-grown fishes and virtually independent of wastewater concentration. The toxicity of heavy metals to organisms varies widely. Comparison of concentration ranges of heavy metals in surface waters with acute toxicity data from these metals shows that concentrations that have been determined to be lethal in laboratory tests may occur in nature with no noticeable effect. The present study, carried out on bioaccumulations of bacteria and heavy metals in three different fishes, revealed that the domestic wastewater is in no way harmful for rearing fish.

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