Microplastic pollution in coastal ecosystem off Mumbai coast, India

Microplastics (MPs) are anthropogenic pollutants which can adsorb toxic substances from surrounding water and absorb into the fish body. During the present study, MPs were observed in water, sediment, and gastrointestinal tracts of marine biota samples collected from the coastal waters of Mumbai, India. The mean abundances of MPs recorded in water samples 372 +/- 143 items/liter and 9630 +/- 2947 items/kg dry weight (DW) in sediment samples. The mean abundance of MPs in pelagic fish species varied from 6.74 +/- 2.74 to 9.12 +/- 3.57 items/ individual and in the demersal species the values ranged from 5.62 +/- 2.27 to 6.6 +/- 2.98 items/individual. Shapewise, four type of MPs were observed in the surface waters, sediments and all studied species, predominantly fibers, followed by fragments, pellets/beads, and films. Seven different colors of MPs (red, blue, black, translucent, brown, green, and yellow) were observed from studied samples. MPs of size below 250 mu m formed the dominant size in the surface water, sediments, and biota samples except Bombay duck and Malabar sole fish. Based on Raman spectroscopy analysis, eleven types of plastic polymers identified from all studied samples. Thus, presence of MPs in studied biota indicates the transfer of MPs through interlinked food chain/web to higher trophic levels and the occurrence of MPs in the fish gut underlines the necessity of more studies on processing interventions for reducing the microplastic contamination in fish for human consumption.

Automated summary

The study found the presence of microplastics in water, sediment, and marine biota samples collected from the coastal waters of Mumbai, India, with fibers being the predominant type, and microplastics below 250 microns dominating the samples. Eleven different types of plastic polymers were identified, indicating the transfer of microplastics through the food chain to higher trophic levels, emphasizing the need for further research on interventions to reduce microplastic contamination in fish for human consumption.