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A comparison of microplastic contamination in freshwater fish from natural and farmed sources
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Researchers compared microplastic contamination in farmed Nile tilapia and two wild-caught native freshwater fish species from Colombia, analysing stomach, gill, and flesh tissues using micro-FTIR spectroscopy. Fragments were the dominant microplastic type across all species and tissues, and contamination was found in farmed as well as wild fish, indicating that both aquaculture and natural water environments contribute to microplastic exposure in freshwater fish.
Contamination of aquatic systems mainly by urbanization and poor sanitation, deficient or lack of wastewater treatments, dumping of solid residues, and run off has led to the presence of particles, including manmade polymers, in tissues of many marine and freshwater species. In this study, the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater fish from farmed and natural sources was investigated. Oreochromis niloticus from aquaculture farms in the Huila region in Colombia, and two local species (Prochilodus magdalenae and Pimelodus grosskopfii), naturally present in surface waters were sampled. Of the particles identified, fragments were the predominant type in the three tissue types (stomach, gill, and flesh) derived from farmed and natural fishes. MicroFT-IR spectroscopy was conducted on 208 randomly selected samples, with 22% of particles identified as MPs based on spectra with a match rate ≥ 70%. A total of 53% of identified particles corresponded to cellophane/cellulose, the most abundant particle found in all fish. Not all fish contained MPs: 44% of Oreochromis farmed fish contained MPs, while 75% of natural source fish contained MPs in any of its tissues. Overall, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyester (PES), and polyethylene (PE) were the prevalent MPs found in the freshwater fish. A broader variety of polymer types was observed in farmed fish. The edible flesh part of fish presented the lower prevalence of MPs compared to gill and stomach (gut), with gut displaying a higher frequency and diversity of MPs. This preliminary study suggests that the incidence and type of MPs varies in farmed verses natural fish sources as well as across different tissue types, with significantly less detected within the edible flesh tissues compared with stomach and gill tissues.
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Researchers evaluated microplastic contamination in freshwater wild and farmed fish species across multiple rivers and farms in Bangladesh, comparing contamination levels between wild-caught and aquaculture-raised fish of the same species.
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Researchers developed a Micro-FTIR extraction and identification method for small microplastics (under 100 µm) and plastic additives in the gastrointestinal tracts of five commercial Mediterranean fish species, finding species-specific contamination patterns with anchovies and sardines showing the highest microplastic burdens.
Abundance, characteristics, and risk assessment of microplastics in indigenous freshwater fishes of India
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Researchers examined microplastic contamination in five widely consumed freshwater fish species from India and found plastic particles in all specimens, with fibers being the most dominant type. Evidence of microplastics in edible fish tissue indicates translocation from the gut, suggesting a pathway for human exposure through consumption. Risk assessment showed that while microplastic abundance posed a low quantitative risk, the polymer types identified indicated a high hazard potential for the fish species studied.
Microplastic-contamination in the flesh and gastrointestinal tract of nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared in floating net cages at lake Ranu Grati, Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia
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Researchers examined microplastic contamination in the surface water, flesh, and gastrointestinal tract of 25 Nile tilapia sampled from floating net cage aquaculture at Lake Ranu Grati, Indonesia, finding 576 microplastic particles in flesh and 724 in gastrointestinal tissue with no statistically significant difference between compartments. ATR-FTIR analysis identified polyethylene as the dominant polymer, with blue fibers in the 101-250 µm range most common in flesh samples.
Microplastic contamination in vertical water columns and fish: a comparative study between the Buriganga River and the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh
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Researchers compared microplastic contamination in vertical water columns and fish between a highly polluted freshwater system (Buriganga River) and a marine environment (Bay of Bengal) in Bangladesh, using hydrogen peroxide digestion followed by microscopy and micro-FTIR spectroscopy for characterization. They found significantly higher microplastic prevalence in the freshwater system and its associated fish compared to the marine environment (p <= 0.05), highlighting the role of urbanized river systems as major microplastic sources.
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