Abstract
Microplastic pollution has become a major global concern. Coastal areas are densely populated with human activity, commercial enterprises, and fishing, resulting in high incidences of fish microplastic pollution. It has been shown that microplastics exist in commercial fish in coastal areas of Guangdong, China. Most of the microplastics were less than 1 mm, white and blue fibers. The abundance, type, shape and color of microplastics in gills and in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of eight species of commercial fish in the coastal waters of central and western Guangdong Province were analyzed. The overall abundance of microplastic particles in fish was 6.6 items/individual, with an average of 2.2 particles in gills and 4.4 in the GIT. The GIT of carnivorous fish was less likely to ingest microplastics than that of herbivores or omnivores. Middle-water fish, on the other hand, are less likely to have their gills contaminated with microplastics. These results revealed the degree of microplastic pollution in fish tissues from the central and western coastal areas of Guangdong province. The quantity of microplastics in the GIT of fish in the Pearl River Delta was the highest compared with the surrounding areas.
Highlights
Plastic pollution has recently become a major problem for global marine ecosystems by destroying the environment and harming organisms [1]
Siganus fuscessens had the highest abundance of microplastics in the gills and gastrointestinal tract (GIT), so we considered it as a candidate for microplastics contamination monitoring in commercial fish
The levels of microplastic contamination were analyzed in gills and in the GIT of wild commercial marine fish from the central and western coast of the Guangdong province
Summary
Plastic pollution has recently become a major problem for global marine ecosystems by destroying the environment and harming organisms [1]. Previous field studies have reported severe plastic pollution in oceans and seas around the world, such as the Amazon River estuary [7], Pacific Ocean [8], Mediterranean Sea [3], and the Arctic Ocean [9]. Plastic breaks down into microplastics, which persist in various forms in our environment in sand, dust and water [10]. Secondary microplastics are plastic particles formed by splitting and reducing the volume of large plastic waste through physical, chemical and biological processes, such as plastic bags and packaging plastics [10]. It has been reported that microplastics are more harmful than plastic due to their small size and persistent presence in the environment [13]
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