The black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus, a carnivorous sedentary species, was studied as an indicator of local trace element (TE) contamination of coastal fish species in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Fish were collected in seagrass meadows in winter 2012 at four sampling sites: three were located near Marseille, a highly urbanized and industrial area that is subjected to various types of contaminant inputs, and one was located near Hyères, a less urbanized area. Size, sex, age and diet of fish were determined before stable isotope and TE analyses. C and N isotopic compositions and concentrations of nine TEs (As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Cr, T-Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined in dorsal white muscle. Most TEs did not bioaccumulate in S. porcus, as no increase in TE concentrations with increasing size, age or trophic level of fish was evident. Total mercury (T-Hg) was the only element to bioaccumulate and biomagnify, displaying strong positive correlations of its concentration with age (r = 0.88, p < 0.01), length (r = 0.84, p < 0.01) and δ 15 N value (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). Compared with the reference site, higher concentrations of As, Ba, Cd, T-Hg, Pb, and Zn were recorded in fish collected at one or all of the Marseille site. In contrast, no difference was observed for Cr, Cu, and Ni concentrations with site. Spatial differences in TE concentrations in S. porcus were related to differences in isotopic composition and to the primary environmental characteristics and human activities prevailing at each site. Concentrations of Cd, T-Hg and Pb in fish muscle (priority substances for monitoring) were all below the maximum permitted European values.