title: Plastic ingestion by fish in the Southern Hemisphere: A baseline study and review of methods.
abstract: Plastic ingestion is well documented among marine birds and sea turtles but fewer studies have investigated ingestion in fish, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. We investigated the frequency of plastic ingestion in 21 species of fish and one species of cephalopod. The overall occurrence of plastic ingestion was 0.3%. Two micro-plastic items were recovered from the gastrointestinal tract of a single Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni). Ingestion rates were similar to other studies of fish conducted in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, however comparisons across species and locations are challenging due to the lack of consistency in the identification and classification of plastic debris. In response, we propose a standardised sampling protocol based on the available literature to provide a stronger basis for comparisons among existing and future studies of plastic ingestion in fish.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, Tasmania 7004, Australia.
authors.forename: Seon M E
authors.initials: SME
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.affiliation: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Battery Point, Tasmania 7004, Australia. Electronic address: Jennifer.Lavers@utas.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lavers
authors.affiliation: Living Ocean Centre for Marine Studies, Sydney, New South Wales 2000, Australia.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry; D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014873:Water Pollutants
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Actinopterygii; Australia; Dissostichus mawsoni; FT-IR; Plastic pollution; Southern Ocean