Microplastics in the Food Chain

Plastic waste is everywhere, with varying concentrations of decomposing microplastics now found in blue mussels and water in the intertidal zone of some of the most popular and more remote beaches in southern Australia

This means microplastics are now entering the human food supply - including wild-caught and sea-farmed fish, as well as seafood from the once pristine waters of the Southern Ocean and South Australian Gulf, researchers at Flinders University have warned

"Our findings illuminate the urgent need to protect these fragile ocean systems from microplastic pollution by working with communities, industry and governments," said an article just published in Science of the Total Environment Professor Karen Burke da Silva, senior author of the new article, said

The Flinders University research team sampled varying levels of microplastics on 10 popular beaches in South Australia, from Coffin Bay and Port Lincoln on the west coast, to Lowland Headlands and Whyalla in Spencer Bay, to Welcome to Adelaide City Beach, as well as Victor Harbor, Robe and Kangaroo Island

Professor Burke da Silva said: "The common blue mussel (Mytilus spp.

Microplastics are ubiquitous in our marine environment and tend to be more abundant in mussel samples near larger towns and cities, with higher levels of microplastics at Semaphore Beach compared to the more remote Ceduna on the Eyre Peninsula Four times

Janet Klein, lead author of the article, said: "By investigating the microplastic load in mussels, we call attention to the impact of microplastic pollution on South Australia's unique marine ecosystem and local human food chain.

Semaphore Beach and Hallett Bay had four times as much microplastic pollution as Ceduna and twice as much as Coffin Bay on the Eyre Peninsula

Trillions of microplastic particles exist in the world's oceans, with the highest concentrations recently found in shallow seafloor sediments of Naifaru in the Maldives (278 particles kg1) in surface waters and the lowest in the Antarctic Southern Ocean (3.

The new study from Flinders University is the first to measure the presence of microplastics on South Australian coastlines, areas important to shipping, fishing and tourism, as well as other industries and local communities

Microplastic concentrations in SA intertidal water were at low to moderate levels (average = 8.

Plastic types include polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), acrylics, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and cellulose, which indicates that from single-use, short-life cycles Synthetic and semi-synthetic pellets for products, fabrics, ropes and fishing ropes

"The areas examined include some globally significant biodiversity hotspots - including northern Spencer Bay where the giant cuttlefish breed and marine ecosystems that are more diverse than the Great Barrier Reef (such as Coffin Bay), so clean-up and precautionary measures are a long way off.

"In addition to harvesting blue mussels, we also need to consider the impact of microplastic particles entering other parts of the human food chain, where microplastic pollution is expected to increase in the future