Presence of microplastics in two common dried marine fish species from Bangladesh

Abstract

We examined microplastics (MP) in two commercially important dried fish, Bombay duck (Harpadon nehereus) and ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus), collected from two sites on the Bay of Bengal (Cox's Bazar and Kuakata). The number of MP found in dried Bombay duck and ribbon fish from Kuakata was significantly higher (41.33 g−1 and 46.00 g−1, respectively) than the MP present in samples collected from Cox's Bazar (28.54 g−1 and 34.17 g−1, respectively). Fibers were the most common type of MP identified in all samples (41–64%), followed by fragments (22–34%), microbeads (9–16%), films (3–4%), foams (1–4%), and pellets (0–2%). ATR-FTIR analysis revealed three different types of MP polymer - polyethylene (35–45%), polystyrene (20–30%) and polyamide (30–45%) in the dried fish samples. The study confirms the presence of high MP loads in dried fish from the Bay of Bengal, with high potential of trophic transfer of MP to the human body.