Eating Near the Dump: Identification of Nearby Plastic Hotspot as a Proxy for Potential Microplastic Contamination in the Norwegian Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Abstract

Plastic waste dumped in the marine environment has severe ecological, social and economic impacts. In recent years, a series of scientific studies documented the contamination by macroplastic and its impact on marine organisms through the accidental ingestion of microplastics, which also originate from the degradation of macroplastic. However, the relationship between the spatial distribution of marine litter and the ingestion of plastics by organisms have never been related. In this work, we aimed to investigate, through a modeling approach, the relations between potential sources of microplastic particles (i.e., seafloor macroplastic accumulation hotspots detected by means of trawl surveys), and the ingestion by the benthic crustacean Norwegian lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). According to the literature, N. norvegicus is characterized by a sedentary behavior and therefore it has been highlighted as a proficient sentinel species for local microplastic contamination. Despite no significant relation has been found between microplastic ingestion and the local presence of seafloor macroplastic, it seems that proximity to hotspots of macroplastic accumulation is significantly related to microplastics ingestion. These results highlight important considerations on the fate of plastic in the marine environments with significant impacts on biota and the quality of the product caught at sea.

Ask the shark: blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) as a sentinel of plastic waste on the seabed

“…It is well known that plastic waste at sea is undergoing a process of fragmentation and miniaturization, so it is logical to expect that large quantities of MaP can generate corresponding quantities of MeP and MiP (Crawford and Quinn 2017;Chamas et al 2020). Similar studies have already identified positive relationships between MiP ingestion and MaP hotspots at the sea bottom (Alomar et al 2020;Franceschini et al 2021). Particles, however, increase their ability to be transported as they become smaller (Zhang 2017), and thus oceanographic factors can greatly affect the spread and accumulation of different sizes of plastic particles.…”

“…The decreasing amount of plastics associated with the distance from the coast could be interpreted as the move away from the source of pollution. This variable was one of the major factors that negatively affect the amount of waste on the seabed along the coast (Coll et al 2012;Steer et al 2017;Sbrana et al 2020;Franceschini et al 2021). Accordingly, the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea (GSA9) hosts a series of fishing grounds along a narrowed shelf that receives plastic waste through some important sources including the rivers Tiber and Arno (Inghilesi et al 2008;Ludwig et al 2009;Montuori et al 2016;Crosti et al 2018).…”

“…Most of the plastic seems to be accumulated on the seafloor in form of microplastics (MiP < 5 mm), or macroplastics (MaP 25-1000 mm), or mesoplastics (MeP 5-25 mm) (GESAMP 2019) with very heterogeneous and complex patterns (Reisser et al 2015;Franceschini et al 2019;Tsiaras et al 2021). These accumulation areas increase the risk of coming into contact with the pollutant, especially for species that live or feed near the seafloor (Alomar et al 2020;Franceschini et al 2021).…”

“…A study conducted in coastal areas of the Western Mediterranean Sea found a correlation between the amount of plastic in the digestive tract of the demersal to semi-pelagic species, Boops boops, and the level of pollution in the environment, using an index based on several factors, including population density, river inputs, distance from the coast, and shipping routes (Sbrana et al 2020). More recent studies revealed that proximity to hotspots of macroplastics accumulation significantly correlates with microplastic ingestion by Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cau et al 2019(Cau et al , 2020Franceschini et al 2021). It is worth noting that there is a growing trend of evidence that marine plastics pollution contaminates key stocks for fisheries, with potential negative consequences to human health, resources status, and socio-economic sectors (Rochman et al 2015;Lusher et al 2017).…”

Temporal changes of plastic litter and associated encrusting biota: Evidence from Central Italy (Mediterranean Sea)

“…The marine litter issue is raising concerns about both the impact of litter on marine ecosystems (Kühn et al, 2015) and the economic costs related to debris removal (Newman et al, 2015;Franceschini et al, 2021). Indeed, Marine Strategy Framework Directive (European Commission, 2008) (MSFD) has been implemented with the descriptor 10, where the European Commission has asserted that the marine litter represents one of the main disturbances of marine ecosystems, outlining evaluation criteria for this type of pollutants, such as to monitor their abundance, composition and danger to waters belonging to the Member States (Galgani et al, 2013a(Galgani et al, , 2013bCau et al, 2022).…”