Abstract
At present, due to rapid urbanization and increasing anthropogenic activities, the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in riverine fishes is becoming an emerging area of food safety concern worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the abundance of MPs in three riverine fish species (Amblypharyngodon mola, Puntius ticto, and Mystustengara) collected from six major rivers of Chhattisgarh, India. The Nile Red staining method was used for the identification and quantification of MPs in fish samples. Out of 140 fish samples examined, 87.9% of the fishes had ingested MPs. The abundance of MPs per gram of fish and per fish was 3.25 ± 2.58 and 14.9 ± 8.12, respectively. Most of the MPs identified were of fragment type and with their size ranging between 20and 300 μm. The demersal fishes had higher levels of MP contamination as compared to surface feeder fishes. Fish samples collected from Mahanadi River in Janjgir-Champa district showed the highest abundance of MPs both in terms of MPs per gram (5.93 ± 3.29) and per fish (22.7 ± 6.59), and this could be attributed to the high level of human activity with municipal waste dumping in the area. The results further suggest the possibility of human ingestion of MPs through the consumption of riverine fishes in this region. This study shows the abundance of MPs in riverine fishes which raises health concerns for the fish consumers and further research is required to assess the overall extent of the impact of MPs on the environment and human health.
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Acknowledgements
Authors are thankful to Dean, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Dau Shri Vasudev Chandrakar Kamdhenu University, Anjora, Durg, Chhattisgarh (India) for providing all the necessary facilities to conduct this research.
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All authors were involved in conceptualization and methodology. Examination of fish samples for microplastics was performed by Ankit Shukla, Anil Patyal, and Choodamani Chandrakar. Data analysis and interpretation were performed by Sanjay Shakya, Subhash Kumar Verma, and Nitin Gade. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ankit Shukla, Anil Patyal, and Sanjay Shakya. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Shukla, A., Patyal, A., Shakya, S. et al. Occurrence of Microplastics in Riverine Fishes Sold for Human Consumption in Chhattisgarh, India. Water Air Soil Pollut 233, 501 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05976-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05976-0