According to a new study by West Coast researchers, the tiny pieces of plastic that clothing, food packaging and other products shed are widespread in fish and shellfish
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They found 1,806 particles in 180 of 182 fish and shellfish samples — evidence of the ubiquity of microplastics in the muscle tissue that people eat. Synthetic clothing fibres comprised 82 per cent of the particles; 17 per cent were microplastic fragments and 0.7 per cent were films.
Pink shrimp had the highest concentrations of particles, while chinook salmon had the lowest, followed by black rockfish and lingcod. Store-bought lingcod contained more particles than those purchased directly from the fishing boat, suggesting it picked up more contaminants from plastic packaging during processing.
Smaller animals, such as shrimp and herring, appeared to consume the most microplastics, said Elise Granek, study author and professor of environmental science and management at PSU — likely because the small particles resemble the zooplankton they feed on.
The researchers say their findings underscore a need for more research into how these particles end up in muscle tissue, policies to regulate microplastic pollutants and solutions to curb their entry into marine environments.
“If we are disposing of and utilizing products that release microplastics, those microplastics make their way into the environment and are taken up by things we eat,” said Granek. “What we put out into the environment ends up back on our plates.”
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