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Microplastic contamination in brown shrimp (Crangon crangon, Linnaeus 1758) from coastal waters of the Southern North Sea and Channel area
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Researchers examined brown shrimp caught from the North Sea and found microplastics in their digestive tracts, documenting contamination in a commercially important crustacean consumed widely by humans in northern Europe.
This study assessed the capability of Crangon crangon (L.), an ecologically and commercially important crustacean, of consuming plastics as an opportunistic feeder. We therefore determined the microplastic content of shrimp in shallow water habitats of the Channel area and Southern part of the North Sea. Synthetic fibers ranging from 200μm up to 1000μm size were detected in 63% of the assessed shrimp and an average value of 0.68±0.55microplastics/g w. w. (1.23±0.99microplastics/shrimp) was obtained for shrimp in the sampled area. The assessment revealed no spatial patterns in plastic ingestion, but temporal differences were reported. The microplastic uptake was significantly higher in October compared to March. The results suggest that microplastics >20μm are not able to translocate into the tissues.
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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.