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Commentary on: Abundance and distribution of microplastics within surface sediments of a key shellfish growing region of Canada
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This formal commentary challenges a 2018 study that reported exceptionally high microplastic concentrations in sediments of Baynes Sound, BC, and attributed the contamination to the local shellfish industry, arguing that the original methodology was flawed and the conclusions insufficiently justified. The authors provide additional data on microplastic levels in the region to put the original findings in context.
This formal comment is in response to "Abundance and distribution of microplastics within surface sediments of a key shellfish growing region of Canada" written by Kazmiruk and colleagues in 2018. This article presents microplastics concentrations in sediment, primarily microbeads, within Baynes Sound, British Columbia, which are some of the highest that have been reported anywhere in the world. The authors cite the local shellfish industry as the likely source of this high degree of contamination and present the industry as a substantial risk to the environment. However, the authors do not sufficiently justify the efficacy of their methodology, and there are several flaws which call into question the legitimacy of their findings. In this commentary, we address the microplastic abundances reported by the authors, and methodological concerns. Furthermore, we provide additional data to elucidate some of this study's more contentious findings. Specifically, we seek to clarify the visual identification of microbeads and microfibres, and the microplastic concentration within shellfish populations, water, and sediment, within the Baynes Sound shellfish growing region.
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