Baseline data of the presence of meso and microplastics in digestive tract of a commercially important teleost fish from the Rio de la Plata Estuary System (Southwest Atlantic Ocean)

MANDIOLA, MARÍA AGUSTINA; BAGNATO, RAMIRO; GANA, JOAQUÍN C. M.; DE LEÓN, M. CAROLINA; DASSIS, MARIELA; ALBAREDA, DIEGO; DENUNCIO, PABLO

Marine and Fishery Sciences (MAFIS)

Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP)

Lugar: Mar del Plata; Año: 2021 vol. 35

White croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) is the most important commercial fish of Río de la Plata Estuary System (RLPES), one of the most extensive on the western South Atlantic coast. This paper describes the occurrence, abundance, and type of plastic debris (PD) present on the digestive tracts of 65 white croakers in the RLPES. Eighty percent of analyzed individuals had ingested PD, 156 of which (FO = 83.9%) were thread-like plastics and 30 were fragments (FO = 16.1%). The average number of pieces per digestive tract was 2.83 ± 3.14. Microplastic represented 85% of PD, most of them were < 2 mm and the prominent color was blue. Our results demonstrate the high occurrence of meso and microplastics in one of the most important species from an ecological and commercial viewpoint in the RLPES. The RLPES is the area of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean that concentrates most of the records of plastic waste in the environment, where the white croaker is the main commercial fish. In addition, M. furnieri is a main prey for several predators in the area. Although preliminary, this is a relevant contribution to the knowledge of marine debris pollution and its impact on the marine community of the region.