Microplastics in sediments and fish from the Red Sea coast at Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)

The amounts of microplastics in sediment samples obtained from four stations along the Jeddah coast were shown to range from not detected to 119 particles kg(-1) wet sediment. Four classes of microplastic particles in the sediment, that is, fragments, granules, foams and fibres, were characterised by fluorescence microscopy. Microplastics of various forms and sizes were also identified in 44% of the 140 sampled fish (6 local species) in amounts ranging from not detected to 30 microplastic particles per individual. Polyethylene terephthalate and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers were the dominant polymer types in the sediment samples identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, while polystyrene, polyethylene and polyester were the dominant polymer types detected in fish. FTIR analysis showed that the most detected fibres were made of polyester. The results of this study emphasise that microplastic pollution represents an emerging threat to the marine environment of the Red Sea. The results of this study provide useful background information for further investigations and provide an accurate overview of the microplastics distribution in the marine environment of the Saudi Red Sea.