Microplastics Environmental Effect and Risk Assessment on the Aquaculture Systems from South China

The small size of microplastics and their wide distribution in water environments have attracted worldwide attention and heated discussion, because of their ingestion by aquatic organisms. At present, there are few studies on microplastics pollution in freshwater aquaculture ponds, especially shrimp ponds. In this study, the aquaculture ponds in the Pearl River Estuary were investigated. The abundance and composition of microplastics in different environmental media were studied to explore the potential sources and risk levels of microplastics, so as to provide basic data for the study of microplastics pollution in aquaculture ponds. Microplastics were observed in water and sediment samples at all sampling sites, with the abundance of 6.6 x 10(3)-263.6 x 10(3) items/m(3) (surface water) and 566.67-2500 items/kg (sediment), respectively. Thirty-seven individuals collected in six ponds belong to four species. Microplastics were observed in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of all fishes and shrimps, with the abundance ranging from 3-92 items/individual (fish) and 4-21 items/individual (shrimp). Among all samples, microplastics with the size range of <1 mm and fiber shape were the most common. The main microplastic components were cellulose, polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE). The results of potential risk assessment showed that the pollution investigation of microplastics should not only consider the abundance. Low abundance does not mean low risk. Taking the toxicity score and abundance of microplastics as evaluation indexes to reflect the pollution status of microplastics may make the results more reliable.

Automated summary

This study investigated microplastics in aquaculture ponds in the Pearl River Estuary, revealing their presence in water and sediment samples, as well as in the gastrointestinal tracts of fishes and shrimps. The main components identified were cellulose, polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE), with microplastics of <1 mm in size and fiber shape being the most common. Results of potential risk assessment suggested that evaluating microplastic pollution status based on toxicity score and abundance may lead to more reliable results.