3. Results
The relationship among the concentrations of Cd, Hg and Pb are
presented in Figs. 1e3. No correlation among heavy metal amounts
were found by Spearman rank test.
Table 1 summarizes (median e iq range) the amount of Cd, Hg
and Pb in the four considered categories of fishery products. Median
values for Cd, Hg and Pb were all within the permitted levels of
European Union; all values in all species ranged from 0 to
910 mg kg1 for Cd, from 0 to 996 mg kg1 for Hg and from 0 to
370 mg kg1 for Pb. Only two samples of X. gladius, belonging to the
category of predatory fish, caught in 2012 in FAO fishing area 57,
had an Hg concentration over the limits, being 2.4 mg kg1 and
1.2 mg kg1
, and being the maximum permitted level 1 mg kg1
.