Freshwater Fish Safety And Bioaccumulation Of Heavy Metals And Pesticides In South Dinajpur District

Freshwater fish safety has become an important issue at the intersection of aquatic ecology, food security, and public health in eastern India. This is especially true in agrarian districts where rivers, wetlands, canals, ponds, and aquaculture systems remain closely linked to agricultural landscapes. South Dinajpur district in West Bengal represents one such setting. Official district records describe a flood-sensitive agricultural district with a cropping intensity of 176 percent, substantial rainfed cultivation, and measurable freshwater resources including river, canal, and beel or baor areas. Earlier ichthyological work further recorded 49 fish species in the freshwater rivers of the district, indicating both ecological diversity and food-system relevance. Yet no integrated district-level study is readily available on fish safety in relation to both heavy metals and agricultural pesticides. This paper addresses that gap through a conceptual review. It synthesizes official district information, peer-reviewed research from West Bengal and the lower Gangetic region, and broader Indian literature on fish bioaccumulation, pesticide pollution, and food-safety regulation. The paper argues that South Dinajpur should be understood as a likely mixed-contaminant freshwater landscape in which agricultural runoff, hydrological connectivity, sediment transport, fish ecology, and local fish consumption interact to shape risk. It concludes that fish safety in the district cannot be assessed through single-contaminant or single-tissue approaches alone. Instead, a district-level framework linking habitat, species ecology, tissue accumulation, and human dietary exposure is required. The paper contributes a review-based conference model for future empirical study and for policy discussion on inland fish safety in eastern India.