Abstract
Mesopelagic fishes were sampled around Tristan da Cunha and St Helena in the South Atlantic from the RRS Discovery at depths down to 1000 m. Sampling was part of the Blue Belt Programme, a marine survey of British Overseas Territories funded by the United Kingdom Government. Thirteen species of mesopelagic fishes identified from 30 specimens were compared with two species (two specimens) collected from rock pools or surface water near the shore. The digestive tracts of all fishes were examined for microplastics. Additionally, one specimen of Opostomias micripnus (Günther, 1878) was analyzed after recovery from the stomach of a commercially fished species, Hyperoglyphe antarctica (Carmichael, 1819). One specimen of Anoplogaster cornuta was found to have ingested a bearded sea devil (Linophryne sp.), a cock-eyed squid (Histioteuthis sp.), a bolitaenid octopus, Japetella diaphana, remains of unidentifiable fish, crustaceans, and possibly salps. These prey items were also examined for microfibres. Both Histioteuthis sp. and Linophryne sp. had ingested fibers and these were considered “ingested particles” for A. cornuta. Neither shallow water dwelling species had ingested microplastics, whilst 11 of the 13 studied mesopelagic species were found to be contaminated. Overall, 66.7% of mesopelagic fishes were found to contain microfibres. Anthropogenic fibers were common especially viscose, a semi-synthetic material which is associated with sanitary products as well as other items.
Highlights
Plastic production has continued to increase since its development in the 1970s
The results from the present study provide a valuable insight into the potential impacts in an ecosystem known to be a significant sink for microplastics
Active predators ingested 2.1 ± 3 SD microplastics compared to 0.8 ± 0.9 SD microplastics is planktivores, 1 ± 0 SD in benthic feeders and 0 ± 0 SD in shallow water species
Summary
Plastic production has continued to increase since its development in the 1970s. Plastic can enter the aquatic environment, creating a global problem (Shim et al, 2018) which has been recorded in the ocean for decades (Carpenter and Smith, 1972; Carpenter et al, 1972). It is estimated that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic are floating on the surface of the ocean (Eriksen et al, 2014). Some of this plastic eventually descends from surface waters with the ocean floor proposed as a major sink. Plastic is increasingly reported in the deep sea, in both sediment and fauna
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