Just like a salmon returning to its birthplace, ocean plastic is making its way back to its creators.
In the Pacific Northwest – a region of North America known for its seafood – researchers have discovered particles from our waste and pollution swimming in the edible tissue of nearly every fish and shellfish they examined.
Out of the 182 individuals caught on the Oregon coast or sold in the state’s markets, only two fish, a lingcod and a herring, had no suspicious particles in their sampled slice of edible tissue.
The remaining fish, including rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, all contained ‘anthropogenic particles’, which consisted of fibers of dyed cottons, cellulose from paper and cardboard, and tiny fragments of plastic.
“It’s alarming that microfibers seem to move from the gut into other tissues such as muscle,” stated ecotoxicologist Susanne Brander from Oregon State University.
“This has significant implications for other organisms, potentially including humans.”
Recent observations have shown that individuals who consume more seafood tend to have more microplastics in their bodies, especially those who eat bivalves like oysters or mussels.
The duration for which these plastics remain in the body and their impact on human health remain uncertain and require urgent investigation.
Brander and her colleagues are not suggesting that people should completely stop consuming seafood, but it is crucial for consumers and scientists to comprehend the extent of exposure.
At this stage, human-generated particles of paint, soot, and microplastics are so prevalent that they are unavoidable. These pollutants are now present in the air, water, and in many meals aside from seafood.
“If we are utilizing products that release microplastics, those microplastics find their way into the environment and are ingested by organisms that we consume,” explained ecologist Elise Granek from Portland State University.
“What we put into the environment ultimately ends up on our plates.”
