Microplastic ingestion by pelagic and demersal fish species from the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean, off the Coast of Ghana

SA Adika (21914276); E Mahu (16348713); R Crane (13309533); R Marchant (7787369); J Montford (21914279); R Folorunsho (21914282); C Gordon (12185519)

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Microplastic ingestion by pelagic and demersal fish species from the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean, off the Coast of Ghana

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SA Adika (21914276), E Mahu (16348713), R Crane (13309533), R Marchant (7787369), J Montford (21914279), R Folorunsho (21914282), C Gordon (12185519)

Summary

Researchers found microplastics in three pelagic and demersal fish species from the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean off Ghana's coast, with Sardinella maderensis showing the highest frequency of occurrence (41%), followed by Dentex angolensis (33%) and Sardinella aurita (26%). Industrially produced pellets were the most dominant microplastic type (31%), followed by microbeads (29%) and burnt film plastics (22%).

Study Type Environmental

We present data on the occurrence of microplastics in fish from the Guinea current region off Ghana's Coast. Frequency of occurrence of microplastics in the fish species followed the order: Sardinella maderensis (41%) > Dentex angolensis > (33%) > Sardinella aurita (26%). Mean numbers of microplastics ingested were 40.0 ± 3.8, 32.0 ± 2.7 and 25.7 ± 1.6 for S. maderensis, D. angolensis and S. aurita respectively. Industrially produced pellets were the most dominant (31%) microplastic type followed by microbeads (29%), burnt film plastics (22%) and unidentified fragments (9%). Microfibers (2%), threads (2%) and foams (<0.1%) were the least occurring microplastics in the fish species. Condition factors estimated for D. angolensis and S. aurita were >1 and below 1 for S. maderensis. The findings of the study show the common occurrence of microplastics in fish stocks and pave the way for future studies on microplastics in this Region.

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