According to a study from the University of California, Davis and Hasanuddin University in Indonesia, nearly a quarter of the fish sampled from fish markets in California and Indonesia contained man-made debris, plastic or fibrous material in their guts.
The study that was issued last week in the journal Scientific Reports is basically one of the first studies which directly links plastic and man-made debris to the fish offered on consumer`s dinner plates.
As stated by the lead author Chelsea Rochman, a David H. Smith postdoctoral fellow in the Aquatic Health Program at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, “It’s interesting that there isn’t a big difference in the amount of debris in the fish from each location, but in the type—plastic or fiber.” He also adds: “We think the type of debris in the fish is driven by differences in local waste management.”
The group of researchers sampled 76 fish from markets in Makassar, Indonesia and 64 from Princeton and Half Moon Bay in California. It turned out that all of the fragments gathered from fish in Indonesia were plastic. On the other hand, 80% of the debris found in California fish was fibers, while not a single fiber was found in Indonesian fish.
Speaking of Indonesia, it has little landfill, waste collection or recycling which in turn results in large amounts of plastic tossed into the ocean and onto the beaches. What makes the situation worse is the lack of purified water which forces the citizens to drink bottled water.
As explained by co-author Susan Williams, a professor with the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory who has worked on projects in Indonesia for the past several years, “Indonesia has some of the highest marine life richness and biodiversity on Earth and its coastal regions—mangroves, coral reefs and their beaches—are just awash in debris.” She further adds: “You have the best and the worst situation right in front of you in Indonesia.”
On the other hand, U.S has advanced systems for collecting and recycling plastic waste. However, many Californian residents wash their clothing in washing machine and the water ends up as over 200 waste water treatment plants offshore California. According to authors` theory, the remained fibers in the sewage from washing machines were ingested by the fish sampled.
Rochman said: “To mitigate the issue in each location, it helps to think about local sources and differences in waste management strategies.”
As the scientists emphasize, both plastic and fibers were found on the fishes` gut. This means that people are likely to ingest the debris only in case they eat the fish whole, such as fish like anchovies and sardines which are eaten whole rather than filleted. The further studies are trying to determine whether the chemicals in plastic can reach the meat.
Finally, it is important to mention that the study was funded by a UC Davis Outreach and International Program SEED Grant, the National Science Foundation’s Graduate K-12 and IGERT programs and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Superfund Research Program.
