We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastics in Sepia officinalis caught on the central Adriatic coast: preliminary results
Summary
Researchers examined the digestive tracts of 122 common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) caught off the Adriatic coast of Italy and found microplastics in over 80% of them, averaging nearly 7 particles per animal. The most common particles were black fragments and blue fibers. Because cuttlefish are widely consumed seafood, this study raises direct food-safety questions and adds to a growing body of evidence that microplastic contamination extends throughout the marine food web.
Microplastics (μPs) represent an emerging problem for the marine environment given their wide bioavailability for all aquatic organisms, from zooplankton to top predators. This work aimed to evaluate a method of extracting microplastics from the gastrointestinal tract of 122 Sepia officinalis caught from the Adriatic Sea (along Abruzzo region coasts) to measure its quantity in a poorly investigated species. The extraction method used for gastrointestinal content was performed using 10% potassium hydroxide. In 98/122 (80.32-95% CI=73.27-87.37%) wild animals microplastics were detected with a mean concentration of 6.82±5.52 μPs/subject. Among the fragments, as supported by various authors, those of black color were the most represented ones; however, also blue fibers and transparent spheres were isolated. This study, in agreement with previous ones, poses further attention to the wide microplastic diffusion in the marine environment (surface, columns, sediments, and animals). The obtained results provide the basis for future investigations on this public health concern.