Health risk estimation of metals bioaccumulated in commercial fish from coastal areas and rivers in Bangladesh

•Nine metals were detected in three commercially significant fish.•Pb and Cd in most of the sampling stations exceed the guidelines.•Pb may pose potential health risk to the consumers.•Cd showed the largest cancer risk value via intake of daily consumption. Metal contaminations in commercial fish have become a great public health concern worldwide including Bangladesh. The current study was conducted to provide preliminary evidence of nine metals in three commercially significant fish namely Pampus argenteus, Sardinella longiceps and Tenualosa ilisha collected from four coastal stations- Kuakata, Pathorghata, Cox's Bazar, and Pirojpur, and eight stations of five rivers- Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Katcha, and Nobogonga in Bangladesh. High magnitudes of Pb (0.74–4.59 mg/kg ww), Cd (0.07−0.24 mg/kg ww), and Mn (0.45–2.03 mg/kg ww) were recorded in the sampling stations that exceeded the maximum permissible limits (MPL) proposed by different recognized organizations. Significant mean differences of metal concentrations were observed (p