Impact of Heavy Metals and Pesticide Contamination on Aquatic Environment and Fish Health: Challenges and Bioremediation Strategies

The environment is the space in which humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms live and operate. It consists of the land, the Earth's atmosphere, and water. The Earth's system is defined by four spheres: the biosphere (living things), the atmosphere (air), the lithosphere (land), and the hydrosphere (water), all of which function together in harmony. Environmental contaminants, often known as pollutants, are compounds that are found at higher levels than in any other part of the environment. (Masindi et al., 2018) Industrialization has increased rapidly during the last century. It has thereby raised the demand for reckless exploitation of the Earth's natural resources, exacerbating the global problem of environmental contamination (Gautam et al., 2016). Various pollutants, including inorganic ions, organic pollutants, organometallic compounds, radioactive isotopes, gaseous pollutants, and nanoparticles, have severely damaged the environment. (Walker, 2012) The term 'contaminant' broadly refers to any undesired alteration in the natural quality of water as a result of biological, chemical, or physical elements, including fertilizers, pesticides, plant diseases, microplastics, and toxic metals. (Bukola and Zaid, 2015).