Slashdot Mirror
73 Percent of Fish In the Northwestern Atlantic Have Microplastics In Their Guts
According to a new study published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, microplastics have been found in the stomachs of nearly three out of every four mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic. "These findings are worrying, as the affected fish could spread microplastics throughout the ocean," reports Phys.Org. "The fish are also prey for fish eaten by humans, meaning that microplastics could indirectly contaminate our food supply through the transfer of associated microplastic toxins." From the report: Microplastics are small plastic fragments that have accumulated in the marine environment following decades of pollution. These fragments can cause significant issues for marine organisms that ingest them, including inflammation, reduced feeding and weight-loss. Microplastic contamination may also spread from organism to organism when prey is eaten by predators. Since the fragments can bind to chemical pollutants, these associated toxins could accumulate in predator species. Mesopelagic fish serve as a food source for a large variety of marine animals, including tuna, swordfish, dolphins, seals and sea birds. Typically living at depths of 200-1,000 meters, these fish swim to the surface at night to feed then return to deeper waters during the day.
The researchers caught mesopelagic fish at varying depths, then examined their stomachs for microplastics back in the lab. They used a specialized air filter so as not to introduce airborne plastic fibers from the lab environment. The team found a wide array of microplastics in the fish stomachs -- with a whopping 73% of the fish having ingested the pollutants.
The researchers caught mesopelagic fish at varying depths, then examined their stomachs for microplastics back in the lab. They used a specialized air filter so as not to introduce airborne plastic fibers from the lab environment. The team found a wide array of microplastics in the fish stomachs -- with a whopping 73% of the fish having ingested the pollutants.
Good thing I don't eat the stomachs of fish. Now if their meat were contaminated with microplastics, then I might worry about it accumulating in my body. Some quick research suggests that microplastics bioaccumulate, as implied by the summary. What really irks me is that 'farm-raised' fish, which should theoretically be free of bioaccumulation problems present in the wild, are fed cut-up wild-caught fish, so the pollutants get fed to them anyway. Where's my grass-fed Kobe fish?!
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
Does it?
You actually need to prove that statement. I'm not saying its wrong, I actually think its probably correct, however its not science until its tested and validated a couple times.
We were lied to about the dangers of tobacco for half a century. Doctors at one time were pimping cigarettes. Millions of deaths occurred due to primary use and secondhand exposure before any tobacco company ever admitted their product was deadly.
Lies and deception surround our meat-processing industry that purposely shrouds itself in secrecy. Ever seen the inside of the processing plant where your meat comes from? Do you really know how that food source is made? I didn't think so.
I don't have to say anything beyond Medical Industrial Complex to describe how bad that multi-trillion dollar industry has become. The killer irony there is medical error is now a leading cause of death, which is conveniently excluded from death certificates.
TL; DR - Prove that statement? How about you first prove that Greed N. Corruption won't distort the truth. The "science" is far too often bought and sold these days in order to protect profits.
They examined the stomach contents of fish. Okay.
They found "microplastics" in about three out of four fish. Okay.
How much? It couldn't be a lot, because they were worried about contaminating the samples with microplastics from the air itself.
That means that the amounts they were looking for were literally microscopic, and very, very low in volume.
It's more a testament to the ability to find incredibly small amounts of the stuff than any indication that the amount they found was large.
This is a lot like the "we found Fukushima radiation in the ocean off the US coast" story - where the amount of cesium was unimaginably small - three ATOMS of the stuff per cubic meter...
Father owns a fishing business in a classic New England fishing town.
The size of his catch each year since 1980 has been the same size. The average fish size (which he keeps track of) has a plus/minus deviation of about a quarter kilo each year. That's 150 tons each haul.
More alarmist bullshite, just like the Mercury claims to try and clamp down on an otherwise very healthy blue collar trade.