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Microplastic contamination in wild shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei from the Huizache-Caimanero Coastal lagoon, SE Gulf of California
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Researchers found microplastics — predominantly fibers and fragments — in the gastrointestinal tracts, gills, and exoskeletons of wild shrimp from a Gulf of California coastal lagoon, with the gut containing far higher concentrations than other tissues, raising food safety concerns for human consumers.
We identified and characterized microplastics (MPs) in the gastrointestinal tract (GT), gills (GI), and exoskeleton (EX) of Litopenaeus vannamei in a coastal lagoon from the SE Gulf of California. The most common MPs were fibers and fragments with an average size of 403 ± 296 μm, in which the transparent and blue colors predominated. The abundance (items/g as wet weight (ww)) in the GT, GI, and EX was 114.7 ± 33.2, 13.7 ± 5.3 and 3.0 ± 0.5, respectively. The abundance of MPs per shrimp was 13.3 ± 1.1, while the abundance per individual (ww) was 0.9 ± 0.2 MPs/g. Considering the consumption of shrimp in Mexico, MP abundance, and shrimp consumption (discarding GI and EX), we estimated MP ingestion as 280 items/person/year. The results from this study can be used as background information for future MP biomonitoring in shrimp species of ecological and commercial importance.
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Researchers measured microplastic occurrence in the gastrointestinal tracts and tissues of four shrimp species (two wild, two farmed) from a Vietnamese lagoon, finding microplastics in all species and providing baseline data on seafood plastic contamination for this region.
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Researchers analyzed microplastic and heavy metal contamination in Pacific white shrimp from a lagoon in the Gulf of California, Mexico. They found an average of 5.5 microplastic particles per shrimp, mostly fibers, along with elevated zinc levels in the gills that may be linked to microplastic presence. The study raises questions about whether microplastics facilitate heavy metal accumulation in seafood species consumed by humans.
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In Situ Assessment of Microplastic Ingestion and Physiological Status of Wild Penaeus Shrimp from the Gulf of California
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Every single shrimp tested from Mexico's Gulf of California—brown, blue, and white varieties commonly eaten worldwide—contained microplastic particles in their guts, mostly tiny black fibers from materials like polyurethane. While the shrimp didn't show obvious signs of illness from these plastics, this matters because these are popular seafood species, meaning the plastics found in their digestive tracts could potentially end up on our plates too. The researchers note that just because no harm was visible yet doesn't mean there isn't a hidden risk we haven't detected.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.