The concentrations of trace metals (V, Al, Sn, As, and Se) were measured in seawater,
sediments, and muscles of fish species collected from beaches of Marsa Matrouh, North West coast
of Egypt. The decreasing trend of metals was observed in water as Al > Sn > As > V > Se and in
sediment as Al > Sn > V > As > Se. The levels of dissolved V, Se and As were lower than the
typical natural trace element concentration of seawater while, Al surpassed. Dissolved Sn concentration
was higher than the background concentration (0.01 lg/l) but it is still lower than the toxic
concentration for organisms. Pollution load index (PLI) recorded values >1 indicate progressive
deterioration of the sediment quality. Enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF) and
geoaccumulation index (Igeo) demonstrated that most of the sediment samples were moderately
to heavily contaminated by Sn which surpassed the threshold limit value (TLV). Metal bioaccumulation
in the muscles of fish species was in the decreasing order of Al > Sn > V > Se, while As was
not detected in all species. Calculated metal pollution indices (MPI) were lower than 1 except in
Saurida undosquamis with 1.43 indicating that it is safe for human consumption