Pesticide concentration in three selected fish species and human health risk in the Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia.

Pesticide use has increased in the Lake Tana sub-basin due to increased agricultural activity, potentially endangering nontargeted organisms. To assess its potential impact on fish health and fish-consuming human populations, pesticide concentrations in the fillet and liver tissue of three fish species, namely Labeobarbus megastoma, Labeobarbus tsanensis, and Oreochromis niloticus, were investigated in Lake Tana. Fish samples were taken from the lake near the rivers of Ribb and Gumara, which flow through agricultural areas where considerable amounts of pesticides have been applied. A total of 96 fish samples were collected. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) revealed the presence of ten pesticides. Pyrimethanil was frequently detected in 96% of liver and 65% of fillet samples at a median concentration of 33.9 µg kg and 19.7 µg kg, respectively. The highest concentration of pyrimethanil was found in L. megastoma (1850.0 µg kg). Labeobarbus megastoma also had the highest concentration of oxamyl (507.0 µg kg) and flazasulfuron (60.1 µg kg) detected in the liver tissue. The highest concentration of carbaryl (56.5 µg kg) was found in the liver tissue of O. niloticus. Fish tissue samples from the two study sites contained pyrimethanil, oxamyl, carbaryl, and flazasulfuron. Only pyrimethanil showed a statistically significant difference between the two sites and the species L. megastoma and L. tsanensis. The amounts of pesticides found in the fish species pose no direct risk to the health of fish consumer human population. However, the results show that the lake ecosystem needs immediate attention and regular monitoring of the rising pesticide usage in the lake watershed.