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