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Low occurrence of microplastic contamination in anchovies, a transboundary species, in Thai waters

ScienceAsia 2022 8 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 35 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Meng Chuan Ong Siriporn Pradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Siriporn Pradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Prawit Towatana, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Prakrit Noppradit, Siriporn Pradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Meng Chuan Ong Prakrit Noppradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Prakrit Noppradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Prakrit Noppradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Prawit Towatana, Prawit Towatana, Prawit Towatana, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Prakrit Noppradit, Meng Chuan Ong Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Prawit Towatana, Prawit Towatana, Prawit Towatana, Karnda Sengloyluan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Karnda Sengloyluan, Prawit Towatana, Prawit Towatana, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Siriporn Pradit, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Siriporn Pradit, Siriporn Pradit, Meng Chuan Ong Prawit Towatana, Prakrit Noppradit, Prawit Towatana, Prakrit Noppradit, Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong Prakrit Noppradit, Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong Siriporn Pradit, Meng Chuan Ong Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Thongchai Nitiratsuwan, Meng Chuan Ong Meng Chuan Ong

Summary

Researchers investigated microplastic occurrence in 100 anchovies from the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea, finding a surprisingly low contamination rate of approximately 8% with only fragment-type MPs smaller than 500 micrometers detected, attributing the low levels to schooling behavior dilution effects, offshore distance from point sources, and the short six- to twelve-month lifespan of the fish.

Polymers

Study Type Environmental

In this study, size capture determination of the anchovies in the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) and the Andaman Sea showed length ranges of 6.00-9.90 cm and 3.50-12.00 cm and weight ranges of 2.23-8.00 g and 0.34-12.09 g, respectively. The occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in anchovies were investigated by randomly sampling 100 individual anchovies (GoT = 50, Andaman Sea = 50) from 2670 samples. The samples were digested with 10% potassium hydroxide for the analyses of types and amounts of MPs present. Surprisingly, a low level (approximately 8%) of MPs was found, and the size of the MPs was less than 500 m. All found MPs were of a fragment type with only three types of polymer (polyethylene, polyester, and rayon) identified by FT-IR spectrophotometer. The low occurrence of MP ingestion in the anchovy samples in our study was probably caused by: (1) the dilution effect of the schooling behaviour of anchovies diluting the amount of MPs ingested by a single individual; (2) the dilution effect depending on the seaward distance from the shore (point source of MPs); and (3) the short residence time (6-12 months) of the anchovies living in the ocean gathered by our study. As a result, the low accumulation of MPs was found in the anchovy samples. The appearance of MPs in anchovies is an alarming finding for food security and sustainability in Thailand.

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