Environmental Monitoring and Health Risk Assessment of African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Cultured in Rural Ponds, India

Water quality monitoring of Clarias gariepinus culture ponds (n = 27) revealed poor physico-chemical conditions and metal contaminants in fish tissues (n = 324). Human health risk assessment for some heavy metal contamination delineated low risk in general except for Aluminium (Al), Iron (Fe) and Lead (Pb) which accumulated significantly (p < 0.05) high in tissues. Health risks values were 6.3 x 10(-3)-9.6 x 10(-3) for Al; 3 x 10(-3)-9.7 x 10(-3) for Fe and 1.15 x 10(-5)-9.3 x 10(-6) for Pb respectively suggesting that contamination of Pb particularly in ponds fed with chicken waste (CW) was posing high risks.