Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Marine pollution is growing due to human activities. Continuous increase in plastic production and poor management of plastic waste resulted in a significant increase of this contaminant in aquatic environments. This in turn led to the widespread presence of Microplastics (MPs) with a size of less than 5mm.
Materials and Methods: In this study, frequency, distribution, color and type of MPs in the gastrointestinal tract of fish in Oman Sea were investigated using random sampling, tissue digestion and flotation of MPs.
Results: The total number of the MPs found in the studied species was variable. The highest number of MPs were found in the species belonged to Rastrelliger kanagurta and Nemipterus japonicus (29%) and Saurida tumbil, Trichiurus lepturus and Paragaleus randalli (14%).
Conclusion: The forms mostly observed were belonged to microfibres (86%), fragment (11%) and pellet (3%). The most frequent colors that were detected were in a decreasing order blue, pink and black. The results demonstrated that the highest concentrations of MPs were observed in Ratrelliger kanagurta and Nemipterus japonicus species. The present study provides useful information for further research, and a background analysis to monitore the pollutants in the Oman Sea.
 

Background and Objective: Microplastics (MPs) are well-known emerging contaminants in the marine environment. A key route by which MPs can directly affect marine life is through ingestion.
Materials and Methods: In order to investigate and measure MPs in the Persian Gulf, random sampling and digestion of tissues and flotation of MPs were used. This method has been used to study the frequency, distribution, shape and color of MPs in in the digestive system of fish in the Persian Gulf.
Results: According to the results, the highest concentration of extracted MPs were found in Sillago sihama (62%), Diagramma pictum (26%), Lutjanus johnii (6%), Otolithes ruber (5%), Epinephelus coioides (1%). However, MPs were not observed in Scomberomorus commerson.
Conclusion: The relative contribution of different forms of MPs in any fish showed that microfibers with the most abundant forms of MPs and fragments and films were observed to have the lowest concentration of 11% and 2%, respectively. Based on our results, it is suggested that Sillago sihama is suitable indicator of MPs contamination among  studied fish in the Persian Gulf. Ingestion of MPs provides a potential pathway for the transfer of plastic additives, metals, PAHs and other POPs to wildlife and human consumers of fish. Therefore, more comprehensive investigations on MPs and nano-plstics should be conducted in food chain of seafood.