Plastic occurrence in fish caught in the highly industrialized Gulf of İzmit (Eastern Sea of Marmara, Türkiye)

Aytan Ü., Esensoy F. B., Şentürk Y., Güven O., Karaoğlu K., Erbay M.

CHEMOSPHERE CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY AS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, cilt.324, ss.1-10, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 324
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138317
  • Dergi Adı: CHEMOSPHERE CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY AS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Artic & Antarctic Regions, BIOSIS, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Geobase, Greenfile, MEDLINE, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-10
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Occurrence of micro- (<5 mm) and mesoplastics (5–25 mm) in twelve fish species caught off Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara was investigated. Plastics were found in the gastrointestinal tracks of all the analysed species: Trachurus mediterraneus, Chelon auratus, Merlangius merlangus, Mullus barbatus, Symphodus cinereus, Gobius niger, Chelidonichthys lastoviza, Chelidonichthys lucerna, Trachinus draco, Scorpaena porcus, Scorpaena porcus, Pegusa lascaris, Platichthys flesus. From a total of 374 individuals examined plastics were found in 147 individuals (39%). The average plastic ingestion was 1.14 ± 1.03 MP. fish−1 (considering all the analysed fish) and 1.77 ± 0.95 MP. fish−1 (considering only the fish with plastic). Fibres were the primary plastic types found in GITs (74%), followed by films (18%) and fragments (7%), no foams and microbeads were found. A total of ten different colours of plastics were found with blue (62%) being the most common colour. Length of plastics ranged from 0.13 to 11.76 mm with an average of 1.82 ± 1.59 mm. A total of 95.5% of plastics were microplastics, and 4.5% as mesoplastics. The mean frequency of plastic occurrence was higher in pelagic fish species (42%), followed by demersal (38%) and bentho-pelagic species (10%). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that 75% of polymers were synthetic with polyethylene terephthalate being the most common polymer. Our results indicated that carnivore species with a preference for fish and decapods were the highest impacted trophic group in the area. Fish species in the Gulf of İzmit are contaminated with plastics, representing a potential risk to ecosystem and human health. Further research is needed to understand the effects of plastic ingestion on biota and possible pathways. Results of this study also provide baseline data for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 10 in the Sea of Marmara.