Abstract
Microplastics in bivalves and their habitat in relation to shellfish aquaculture proximity in coastal British Columbia, Canada
Highlights
Microplastics are a ubiquitous ocean contaminant and suggested to represent a potential threat to marine ecosystems and to human food safety and security (Barboza et al 2018)
Our results show no significant difference in microplastic particle (MP) concentrations in shellfish or their habitat between shellfish aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites at a local scale (60−530 m) in coastal British Columbia (BC), suggesting that the observed MP concentrations may be related to other factors
Sandier beaches were linked with increased MP concentrations in oysters; again this appears to be due to the difference in body size between shellfish aquaculture vs. non-aquaculture sites, as tissue weight was lower at the sandier beaches than the gravellier ones
Summary
Microplastics are a ubiquitous ocean contaminant and suggested to represent a potential threat to marine ecosystems and to human food safety and security (Barboza et al 2018) They have been documented to occur in coastal British Columbia (BC), Canada, both in seawater, and in the bodies of zooplankton (Desforges et al 2014, 2015). Microplastics have been documented in a wide range of animals commonly consumed by humans including fish, shellfish, and chicken (Rochman et al 2015, Huerta Lwanga et al 2017) They occur in other food items such as beer, honey, sugar, and salt (Liebezeit & Liebezeit 2013, 2014, Karami et al 2017) as well as in the air (Dris et al 2016). They may translocate into other organs and tissues, triggering a local immune response and/or potentially causing chemical toxicity via the leaching of monomers, additives, and/or absorbed contaminants (Wright & Kelly 2017)
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