Presence of microplastic in commercial bivalves along the Portuguese coast, comparing different aquaculture systems

• Main Author: Manthopoulos, Michael
• Other Authors: Bebianno, Maria João, Nathan, Justine Emily
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Micro partículas; Polímero; Ostras; Mexilhão; Amêijoa; Aquacultura; Portugal; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Outras Ciências Sociais; Pacific; Crassostrea gigas
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/19188

Plastic pollution is a hazard that has entered many aspects of life and is becoming increasingly distressing on human health. The consumption of marine animals, unfortunately, is now associated with the consumption of plastic, including in aquaculture species. Bivalves are traditionally grown in aquaculture facilities in Portugal for national and international consumption. During the cultivation of these animals, plastic is used in nets and sacks for the growth process and in collection and processing. As more evidence appears for negative impacts of plastic consumption on human health, it is becoming more important to expand the global knowledge base of how much plastic is present in our food. The aim of this thesis as part of the PlasticSea project was to investigate the presence of plastic in three species of bivalves in Portuguese aquaculture: Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus gollaprovincialis), clams (Ruditapes decussatus) and Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas). Five different locations were selected from the Portuguese coast in the regions of Aveiro, Sado and the Algarve. 15 organisms from each location were analysed to identify plastic, remarking their size, colour, and type. 54 particles of plastic were successfully identified from 90 organisms (0.6 particles/ individual), of which the most common colour was black and most common type was fragments. Results were compared to coastal organisms from different natural environments which showed that there was no significant difference between the amount of plastic ingested by each category (natural or aquaculture), but aquaculture specimens are more likely to ingest black plastic, feasibly from aquaculture equipment. Further studies such as spectroscopy analysis would be needed to determine if this is true. This data will help to identify and eliminate the reasons of occurrence of microplastics in marine organisms such as bivalves. A produção de plástico para utilização em todos os sectores da sociedade está a aumentar, e como resultado da má gestão desse ...