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Assessment and characterization of microplastic contamination in milkfish (Chanos chanos) from marine aquaculture systems in the Philippines
Summary
Researchers tested milkfish (a popular food fish) from fish farms in the Philippines and found tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, in their digestive systems—with some farm locations showing much higher contamination than others. Since these particles come from common plastic products like packaging and synthetic fabrics, this raises concerns about plastic exposure for people who eat farmed fish, though more research is needed to understand the actual health risks. The findings highlight the need for better pollution control in fish farming areas.
This paper investigated the microplastic contamination in milkfish harvested from nine mariculture sites in the Philippines. The digestion of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was carried out using potassium hydroxide (KOH). Optical microscopy (OM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were utilized to identify and classify the suspected microplastics in the milkfish samples. Results revealed that five types of polymers were identified, namely polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene and cellulose-based polymers. Sampling site 2 obtained the highest average microplastic concentration of 14.77 + 0.0 particles/fish. This study offers a meaningful contribution to understanding microplastic contamination on tropical aquaculture species and highlights the urgency of implementing effective management strategies to address this escalating environmental concern.