Microplastics in Seawater: Recommendations from the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Implementation Process

Gago, Jesús; Galgani, François; Maes, Thomas; Thompson, Richard C.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2016.00219

Cited by 123 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Spectra were compared with reference standards run on the same instrument and processed using Opus software supplied by Bruker. To make a positive polymer identification, we used the approach advocated by Frias et al (2016) [37] and the European Union expert group on marine litter (Subgroup on Marine litter (TSG-ML)) to only accept matches of >70% similarity to the reference library samples [38].…”

Section: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The Plastic Nile’: First Evidence of Microplastic Contamination in Fish from the Nile River (Cairo, Egypt)

Khan

Shashoua

Crawford³

et al. 2020

Toxics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the world’s longest river, the Nile River, has yet to be reported. This small-scale study aimed to provide the first information about MPs in the Nile River by sampling the digestive tracts of two fish species, the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, n = 29) and catfish (Bagrus bayad, n = 14). Fish were purchased from local sellers in Cairo, and then their gastrointestinal tracts were dissected and examined for MPs. Over 75% of the fish sampled contained MPs in their digestive tract (MP prevalence of 75.9% and 78.6% for Nile tilapia and catfish, respectively). The most abundant MP type was fibers (65%), the next most abundant type was films (26.5%), and the remaining MPs were fragments. Polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) were all non-destructively identified by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A comparison with similar studies from marine and freshwater environments shows that this high level of MP ingestion is rarely found and that fish sampled from the Nile River in Cairo are potentially among the most in danger of consuming MPs worldwide. Further research needs to be conducted, but, in order to mitigate microplastic pollution in the Nile River, we must act now.

show abstract

Section: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The Plastic Nile’: First Evidence of Microplastic Contamination in Fish from the Nile River (Cairo, Egypt)

Khan

Shashoua

Crawford³

et al. 2020

Toxics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, recent evidence suggests that at high concentrations (~1000 particles L -1 which is around 2 orders of magnitude greater than currently reported environmental levels), microplastic contamination in coastal water columns may also settle or be deposited onto shallow water benthic habitats and can alter faunal and floral communities and reduce primary productivity (Green 2016, Green et al 2017. It is, therefore, vital to monitor the levels of contamination in coastal habitats in order to prevent these areas from reaching critical levels for negative impacts to occur (Gago et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of sampling methods for seawater microplastics and a first report of the microplastic litter in coastal waters of Ascension and Falkland Islands

Green

Kregting

Boots

et al. 2018

Marine Pollution Bulletin

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To date there is no gold standard for sampling microplastics. Zooplankton sampling methods, such as plankton and Neuston nets, are commonly used to estimate the concentrations of microplastics in seawater, but their ability to detect microplastics is limited by their mesh size. We compared different net-based sampling methods with different mesh sizes including bongo nets (>500µm), manta nets (>300µm) and plankton nets (>200µm and >400µm) to 1 litre bottle grabbed, filtered (0.45µm) samples. Concentrations of microplastics estimated using net-based methods were ~3 orders of magnitude less than those estimated by 1 litre grab samples. Some parts of the world with low human populations, such as Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands, lack baseline data on microplastics. Using the bottle grab sampling method we found that microplastic litter was present at these remote locations and was comparable to levels of contamination in more populated coastal regions, such as the United Kingdom.

show abstract

“…Even though sampling locations do not overlap exactly in terms of spatiotemporal scale, it is the first study in the North Sea region in which results from both matrices are compared. Since sediment is thought to be a sink (Morét-Ferguson et al, 2010;Foekema et al, 2013;Van Cauwenberghe et al, 2013;Cózar et al, 2014) for microplastics, research on the occurrence and relationship between floating and deposited microplastics is paramount in understanding the physical processes acting on plastic particles and predicting hotspots for monitoring and clean-up (Gago et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics Baseline Surveys at the Water Surface and in Sediments of the North-East Atlantic

Maes

Meulen

Devriese³

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

Self Cite

215

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microplastic contamination was determined in sediments of the Southern North Sea and floating at the sea surface of North West Europe. Floating concentrations ranged between 0 and 1.5 microplastic/m 3 , whereas microplastic concentrations in sediments ranged between 0 and 3,146 particles/kg dry weight sediment. In sediments, mainly fibers and spheres were found, whereas at the sea surface fragments were dominant. At the sea surface, concentrations of microplastics are lower and more variable than in sediments, meaning that larger sample sizes and water volumes are required to find detectable concentrations. We have calculated the widths of the confidence intervals (CI) for different sample sizes, to give a first indication of the necessary sample size for a microplastic survey at the water surface. Higher concentrations of floating microplastics were found near estuaries. In sediments, estuaries and areas with a high organic carbon content were likely hotspots. Standardization of monitoring methods within marine regions is recommended to compare and assess microplastics pollution over time.

show abstract

Microplastics in Seawater: Recommendations from the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Implementation Process

Cited by 123 publications

References 23 publications

‘The Plastic Nile’: First Evidence of Microplastic Contamination in Fish from the Nile River (Cairo, Egypt)

‘The Plastic Nile’: First Evidence of Microplastic Contamination in Fish from the Nile River (Cairo, Egypt)

A comparison of sampling methods for seawater microplastics and a first report of the microplastic litter in coastal waters of Ascension and Falkland Islands

Microplastics Baseline Surveys at the Water Surface and in Sediments of the North-East Atlantic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About