Abstract
Contamination of aquatic systems mainly by urbanization and poor sanitation, deficient or lack of wastewater treatments, dumping of solid residues, and run off has led to the presence of particles, including manmade polymers, in tissues of many marine and freshwater species. In this study, the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater fish from farmed and natural sources was investigated. Oreochromis niloticus from aquaculture farms in the Huila region in Colombia, and two local species (Prochilodus magdalenae and Pimelodus grosskopfii), naturally present in surface waters were sampled. Of the particles identified, fragments were the predominant type in the three tissue types (stomach, gill, and flesh) derived from farmed and natural fishes. MicroFT-IR spectroscopy was conducted on 208 randomly selected samples, with 22% of particles identified as MPs based on spectra with a match rate ≥ 70%. A total of 53% of identified particles corresponded to cellophane/cellulose, the most abundant particle found in all fish. Not all fish contained MPs: 44% of Oreochromis farmed fish contained MPs, while 75% of natural source fish contained MPs in any of its tissues. Overall, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyester (PES), and polyethylene (PE) were the prevalent MPs found in the freshwater fish. A broader variety of polymer types was observed in farmed fish. The edible flesh part of fish presented the lower prevalence of MPs compared to gill and stomach (gut), with gut displaying a higher frequency and diversity of MPs. This preliminary study suggests that the incidence and type of MPs varies in farmed verses natural fish sources as well as across different tissue types, with significantly less detected within the edible flesh tissues compared with stomach and gill tissues.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to Emma Chapman and the private aquaculture sector of the region of Huila, Colombia. This work was funded by a Global Challenges Research Fund grant to the University of Hull.
Funding
The resources used for this research were provided by the University of Hull from the grant funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which includes an allocation from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). An agreement was established between the University of Hull, the Surcolombia University and a seafood processing facility from the region of study, with the aim to develop a research named “Microplastic contamination of the global food supply: obtain of initial data for baseline creation evidencing the status of fish farmed in the Huila region, Colombia”, which was the base for this manuscript.
The authors of the manuscript were autonomous for the design of the study, as for the collection, analysis, interpretation of data and the writing of the manuscript, neither the funding body nor the organizations participating in the agreement influenced the independency of the authors.
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AG contributed with the experimental design of the study, with the collection, processing, and analysis of fish samples in the laboratory, with the analysis and interpretation of data, and with the writing of the manuscript. DS contributed with the experimental design of the study, with the sampling of fish samples, with the interpretation of data, and with writing of the manuscript. JL contributed with the chemical determination of microplastics in the laboratory, and with the analysis of data. JR contributed with the experimental design of the study, with the training and technological transfer of knowledge, and with the revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The Surcolombiana University, being a public entity in Colombia, is governed by the guidelines given by Colciencias in the document POLITICS OF ETHICS, BIOETHICS AND SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY, which describes the minimum guidelines that lead all the actors of the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation (SNCTel). In this manner, in order to ensure the appropriate ethical review of research grants, the Vice-rectory of Research and Social projection of the Surcolombiana University, periodically monitor the normal development of investigations. For this purpose, the research that framed this manuscript was approved for the committee of investigations (COCEIN) according to the minutes 02 of February 14 of 2018. In addition, the authors declare that all biological specimens were provided by local farmers and fishers.
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Garcia, A.G., Suárez, D.C., Li, J. et al. A comparison of microplastic contamination in freshwater fish from natural and farmed sources. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 14488–14497 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11605-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11605-2