Microplastics in marine beach and seabed sediments along the coasts of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania

Amina Asiya Nchimbi; Daniel Abel Shilla; Charles Mitto Kosore; Dativa Joseph Shilla; Yvonne Shashoua; Farhan R Khan

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114305

Microplastics in marine beach and seabed sediments along the coasts of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Dec;185(Pt A):114305. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114305. Epub 2022 Nov 5.

Authors

Amina Asiya Nchimbi¹, Daniel Abel Shilla², Charles Mitto Kosore³, Dativa Joseph Shilla⁴, Yvonne Shashoua⁵, Farhan R Khan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology (DASFT), University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 60091, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Department of Biology, College of Natural and Mathematical Science (CNMS), University of Dodoma, P.O. Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania. Electronic address: asiyaanchimbi@gmail.com.
² Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology (DASFT), University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 60091, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
³ Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of Dar es Salaam, DUCE, Tanzania.
⁵ Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science (M&M) group of the National Museum of Denmark (NMD), Denmark.
⁶ Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Nygårdsporten 112, NO-5008 Bergen, Norway.

PMID: 36343543
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114305

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the marine environment has been one of the biggest challenge in developing countries due to a lack of proper solid waste management strategies. This study reports the distribution and types of MPs in beach and seabed zones of the Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar coasts. A total of 641 MPs were identified across all sites, of which 84 % and 16 % originated from beach and seabed sediments, respectively. Fragment and fibers were the most common types in both seabed and beach zone confirming the secondary sources of the MPs. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), revealed four types of polymers with polyethylene (PE) (56%) and polyester (PS) (24 %) being the most common. Microplastics were more abundant on beaches than in seabed zone. A larger abundance of PE and PS reveals a wide range of MPs entering the Ocean.

Keywords: Beach; East Africa; Microplastics pollution; Seabed; Sediment.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Microplastics*
Plastics
Polyethylene
Tanzania
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polyethylene