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. 2020 Dec 4:8:562760.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.562760. eCollection 2020.

Evidence of Marine Microplastics in Commercially Harvested Seafood

Emily Curren  1 , Chui Pin Leaw  2 , Po Teen Lim  2 , Sandric Chee Yew Leong  1
Affiliations

Evidence of Marine Microplastics in Commercially Harvested Seafood

Emily Curren et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Microplastic pollution is a global issue that has a detrimental impact on food safety. In marine environments, microplastics are a threat to marine organisms, as they are often the same size range as prey and are mistaken as food. Consumption of microplastics has led to the damage of digestive organs and a reduction in growth and reproductive output. In this study, microplastic pollution was assessed across three commercially available shrimp species that were obtained from the supermarkets of Singapore. A total of 93 individuals were studied from the Pacific white leg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, the Argentine red shrimp Pleoticus muelleri and the Indian white shrimp Fenneropenaeus indicus. Microplastic fibers, fragments, film and spheres were identified from the digestive tract of these organisms. Microplastic abundance ranged from 13.4 to 7050 items. F. indicus exhibited the highest number of microplastics. Microplastic film was the most abundant in L. vannamei individuals (93-97%) and spheres were the most abundant in P. muelleri (70%) and F. indicus (61%) individuals. This study demonstrates that microplastic contamination is evident in commonly consumed shrimp and highlights the role of shrimp in the trophic transfer and accumulation of microplastics in seafood. The consumption of microplastic-containing seafood is a route of exposure to humans and has implications on human health and food security. Capsule: Microplastics were examined in three shrimp species from the supermarkets of Singapore. Microplastics ranged from 13.4 to 7050 items of shrimp.

Keywords: commercial; marine; microplastic; pollution; seafood; shrimp.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Composition of microplastics in L. vannamei shrimp (Malaysia, Ecuador), P. muelleri (Atlantic Ocean) and F. indicus (Indian Ocean). Compositions are in percentages.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A-F) Microplastic particles obtained from the digestive tracts of shrimp. (A) Microplastic film from L. vannamei (Malaysia). (B) Microplastic fiber from L. vannamei (Ecuador). (C) White microplastic spheres from P. rnuelleri. (D) Red microplastic fiber from P. rnuelleri (arrow). Agglomerations of microplastic spheres are indicated by the asterisk (*). (E) Blue microplastic fiber from F. indicus. Unless otherwise indicated, scale bars represent 20 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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