Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 162, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111899
Keywords
Sanggou Bay; Microplastic pollution; Surface seawater; Mariculture; Inventory
Funding
- National Key Research and Development Program of China [2018YFD0900703]
- Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS [2020TD12]
- Special Scientific Research Funds for Central Non-Profit Institutes, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institutes [20603022020002, 20603022019007]
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The study found that the microplastic abundance in surface seawater of Sanggou Bay was relatively high, with most originating from mariculture facilities and polyethylene being the dominant polymer. Attention should be focused on mariculture-derived microplastics pollution in the future.
Microplastic pollution in marine environments has become a major global environmental issue. However, the source of microplastics in marine environments is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the distribution and the source of microplastics in surface seawater from Sanggou Bay, China. The results showed that the average abundance of microplastics was 20.06 +/- 4.73 items/L, which represented a medium and high level relative to other sea areas. Microplastics of <0.5 mm dominated. Most particles were granular and transparent, and polyethylene was the dominant polymer. We estimated that 62.76% of the microplastics originated from mariculture facilities, an indication that mariculture contributes significantly to microplastics pollution, and calculated that 96.15 kg was present in surface seawater of Sanggou Bay. Our findings indicated that more attention should be paid to mariculture-derived microplastics pollution in the future.
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