A team from the University of Otago in New Zealand found that among the more than 150 wild fish caught in a sea area south of New Zealand, three-quarters of the fish contain microplastic .
Researchers studied 155 samples of sea fish with important commercial value captured on the Otago coast over the past year. The results showed that 75% of sea fish contained microplastics in their bodies, and each fish detected an average of 2.5 microplastic particles. This time, 99.68% of the identified plastic particles particle size was less than 5 mm (plastics with a size less than 5 mm in the marine environment are defined as marine microplastics). Due to its small size, microplastics are easily fed by marine organisms, which affects the growth, development and reproduction of marine organisms. Their ecological and environmental risks cannot be ignored. Microplastic fibers are the most common type.
This study found that the content of microplastics in fish living at different depths of the Otago Sea is similar, which shows that microplastics are everywhere in the studied sea areas. There is increasing evidence that microplastics have already polluted the marine ecological environment.
Microplastics of different plastic types can contain 4% plastic additives on average, among which plastic additives such as phthalate , bisphenol A and some flame retardants are endocrine disruptor and carcinogens. After these wastes enter the food chain, they will flow back to the human table, endangering human health. Researchers said further studies are necessary to determine the risks to human health and ecology caused by consuming fish contaminated with plastic.
