Microplastic pollution of commercial fishes from coastal and offshore waters in southwestern Japan

Mitsuharu Yagi; Tsunefumi Kobayashi; Yutaka Maruyama; Sota Hoshina; Satoshi Masumi; Itaru Aizawa; Jun Uchida; Tsukasa Kinoshita; Nobuhiro Yamawaki; Takashi Aoshima; Yasuhiro Morii; Kenichi Shimizu

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113304

Microplastic pollution of commercial fishes from coastal and offshore waters in southwestern Japan

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Jan:174:113304. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113304. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; Institute of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan. Electronic address: yagi-m@nagasaki-u.ac.jp.
² Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
³ Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; T/S Kakuyo-maru, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
⁴ Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; T/S Nagasaki-maru, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
⁵ Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; Institute of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.

PMID: 35090289
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113304

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) pollution in the marine environment is a worldwide issue. There is growing concern of consuming MPs through fish, yet the contamination status of fish collected from deeper waters surrounding Japan remains limited. Here, we presented baseline data on MPs in commercially important fishes from the coastal and offshore waters near Kyushu, Japan (East China Sea). We examined the MPs in the digestive tracts of two pelagic (n = 150) and five demersal species (n = 235). The fish were caught by pole and line, and bottom trawl at different geographical positions. The MPs in pelagic fish (39.1%) were more than in demersal fish (10.3%) and were of larger sizes. Moreover, the MPs correlated with habitat depth and type and species variation in the shape and polymer composition of MPs was observed. The results increase our understanding of the heterogeneous uptake of MPs by fishes.

Keywords: Demersal fish; East China Sea; Microplastics; Pelagic fish; Pole and line; Trawl fishery.

MeSH terms

Animals
Environmental Monitoring
Fishes
Japan
Microplastics*
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical