To quantify the occurrence of ingested plastic in fish species caught at different geographical positions in the North Sea, and to test whether the fish condition is affected by ingestion of plastics, 1203 individual fish of seven common North Sea species were investigated: herring, gray gurnard, whiting, horse mackerel, haddock, atlantic mackerel, and cod. Plastic particles were found in 2.6% of the examined fish and in five of the seven species. No plastics were found in gray gurnard and mackerel. In most cases, only one particle was found per fish, ranging in size from 0.04 to 4.8 mm. Only particles larger than 0.2 mm, being the diameter of the sieve used, were considered for the data analyses, resulting in a median particle size of 0.8 mm. The frequency of fish with plastic was significantly higher (5.4%) in the southern North Sea, than in the northern North Sea above 55°N (1.2%). The highest frequency (>33%) was found in cod from the English Channel. In addition, small fibers were initially detected in most of the samples, but their abundance sharply decreased when working under special clean air conditions. Therefore, these fibers were considered to be artifacts related to air born contamination and were excluded from the analyses. No relationship was found between the condition factor (size-weight relationship) of the fish and the presence of ingested plastic particles.

Background. Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment. Objective. The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the Lake Ziway watershed. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during a period of pesticide application from a purposively selected village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and on-site observations on farms. A Chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable associations were significant. Results. World Health Organization (WHO) class II pesticides (moderately toxic) were the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. There was no reported use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and endosulfan. Most (92%) farmers reported indiscriminately disposing of empty containers in the field, while 86.7% applied the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of farmers and their practices related to pesticides. Conclusions. Generally, the knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover, the inappropriate disposal of pesticides and pesticide containers poses a risk to the environment. The findings of the present study underline the need to train farmers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to mitigate hazards to human health and the environment. Participant Consent. Obtained Ethics Approval. The study was granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval from the Hawassa University College of Natural and Computational Science, Research and Review Committee. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Background: The insecure utilization and misapplication of pesticides in Ethiopia are major fears to farmers' wellbeing and the ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of the small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the littoral of Lake Ziway. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during pesticide application from a purposively selected irrigation-using village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and observations on-farms. A chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable association were significant. Results: The results show that WHO class II pesticides (moderately toxic) are the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. The use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as DDT and Endosulfan were not reported. A great portion (92%) of farmers indiscriminately disposed of empty containers in the field while 86.7% apply the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of the farmers and their practices related to the pesticide. Conclusion: Generally, the Knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover inappropriate disposal of pesticides and its container will damage the environment. The finding of the study underlines the need to train framers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to prevent health and environmental hazards.