Evaluation of the Microplastic Presence in the Gastrointestinal tract of the Fish Species Cynoscion acoupa Juan Martins de Campos, Larissa Taís Traldi Wintruff,, Ursulla Pereira Souza, Helen Sadauskas-Henrique

Abstract

 Plastic in ocean has been a problem for almost 50 years, it can cause pollution and mortality of many animals mainly through tissue damage and toxic effects. Is estimated that the production of plastic waste can reach millions of tons per year. The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of microplastic in the gastrointestinal system of the commercial fish species, Cynoscion acoupa, popularly known as pescada amarela. Ten (10) specimens were used for microplastic analysis through observation of gastrointestinal content and visualization in a stereoscopic microscope. Fifty-three (53) plastic items were found in 10 samples with the predominance of plastic fibers (80.7%), followed by particles (15.8%) and the microspheres (3.5%). Higher fibers frequency in the gastrointestinal content of fish was already reported previously, especially for pelagic fish. These fibers may be located both on the surface and in the water column, where such ingestion may occur accidentally.