Microplastic contamination in Corpus Christi Bay blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus

Scientific Significance Statement Plastic materials have been observed in marine and coastal ecosystems around the world and while their full effects are not completely understood, they negatively impact a variety of organisms. Invertebrates have been observed with plastic in their guts, but it is unknown if blue crabs, which are an important U.S. commercial and recreational fishery, consume these materials. This article reinforces the importance of quality control, proper methodology, and material confirmation in microplastic studies and provides evidence that blue crabs in Corpus Christi Bay, TX ingest microplastic fibers and particles. Microplastic pollution has been observed in marine environments around the world and has the potential to negatively impact marine organisms if ingested. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are susceptible to this pollution because they feed in sediment where dense plastics accumulate. Microplastic ingestion by blue crabs was assessed in Corpus Christi Bay, TX. Crab stomachs were extracted and digested using a hydrogen-peroxide based tissue destruction method followed by material confirmation using microattenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (mu-FTIR). From the 39 blue crabs sampled, 28 fully synthetic fragments and fibers and 24 semisynthetic fibers were found within their stomachs. After correcting for possible contamination, 36% of collected blue crabs contained fully synthetic fragments and fibers and semisynthetic fibers with an estimate of 0.87 items per crab. This study demonstrates the need for further studies that assess the impacts of plastic ingestion on blue crabs.