Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in shellfish from Jiaozhou Bay, China

• Published in: Journal of oceanology and limnology Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 163 - 172
• Main Authors: Zhang, Kangning, Liang, Junhua, Liu, Tao, Li, Qingjie, Zhu, Mingliang, Zheng, Shan, Sun, Xiaoxia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Science Press 01.01.2022; Springer Nature B.V; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao),Qingdao 266237,China%Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao 266071,China%Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao 266071,China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao),Qingdao 266237,China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao 266071,China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China%Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao 266071,China; Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao 266071,China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
• Subjects: Abundance; Cellophane; China; Clams; color; Consumption; Crassostrea gigas; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecology; Fibers; limnology; Marine molluscs; Marine organisms; Microplastic pollution; Microplastics; Oceanography; Oysters; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; pollutants; pollution; Polyethylene terephthalate; polyethylene terephthalates; Population number; Ruditapes philippinarum; seafood consumption; Shellfish; Wet weight; China; Jiaozhou Bay; risk assessment; microplastics; Jiaozhou Bay; bivalves
• ISSN: 2096-5508; 2523-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s00343-021-0465-7

As an emerging pollutant, the presence of microplastics in marine organisms has been concerned increasingly. Shellfish, which are both economically and ecologically important, are of particular concern. In this study, we investigated the microplastic pollution in wild and farmed oysters ( Crassostrea gigas ) and clams ( Ruditapes philippinarum ) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China, for the first time. We found the microplastic pollution in shellfish in Jiaozhou Bay was at a moderate level. The abundance of microplastics in shellfish ranged from 0.16 to 12.09 items/g (wet weight, ww) or 1 to 9 items/ind. The average abundance of the ingested microplastics was 1.21 items/g (or 2.17 items/ind.) in all shellfish, 1.51 items/g (or 2.00 items/ind.) in clams and 0.92 items/g (or 2.34 items/ind.) in oysters. The abundance of microplastics in clams was significantly higher than that in oysters. Most microplastics (92.97%) were fibers, followed by fragments. The predominant color of the microplastics was black (42.97%), followed by blue, transparent, and red. Cellophane and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) dominated the microplastic composition. According to shellfish consumption, it can be inferred that the average microplastic consumption through Chinese diet is 1.27×10 3 items per capita per year.