Microplastics in wild clams harvested from coastal waters of Lamongan, Indonesia

Abstract

The contamination of microplastics have been reported in a wide array of marine organisms, including bivalve molluscs. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and abundance of microplastics in bivalves from coastal waters of Paciran, Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia. High population and anthropogenic activities in the area may lead the contamination of microplastics in its marine organisms. Microplastics were recovered from the soft tissues of three species of wild clams, Gafrarium tumidum, Anadara antiquata, and Venerupis philippinarum. In each species, microplastics were grouped based on their types and sizes. The extraction of microplastics was using 30% H2O2, while flotation method using NaCl was used to separate the dissolved liquid of the clam’s soft tissues. Microplastic ingestion was found in 99.23% of the clam samples with average concentration of 3.5 ± 2.8 items/individual and 3.2 ± 2.52 items/g. V. philippinarum had the highest microplastics concentration (4.9 ± 2.80 items/g and 5.6 ± 3.22 items/individual). Microplastic types from all samples were dominated by fibers (80.77%), in which 57% of them were less than 200 µm in size. The ubiquitous contamination of microplastics in clams of the coastal waters of Lamongan, Indonesia is serious concerns for marine food webs and human health.