OCCURRENCE OF MICROPLASTIC IN COMMERCIAL FISH FROM NORTHERN JAVA SEA, INDONESIA

, Yona Defri, Harlyan Ledhyane Ika, Fuad M. Arif Zainul, Prananto Yuniar Ponco.

The occurrence of microplastic in the marine environment could lead to the accumulation of microplastic in the marine biota. The ingestion of microplastic in marine fishes has been studied intensively worldwide. This study aims to assess microplastic concentration in two commercial fish species yellowstripe cad (Selaroides leptolepis) and common ponyfish (Leiognathus equulus) from the northern Java Sea, Indonesia. Ten fish samples from each species were collected directly from the fishermen in the Brondong Port, Lamongan. Microplastics were visually identified using microscope from three different organs (gill, gastrointestinal tract and muscle) after organic matter digestion. In total, 117 items and 97 items of microplastics were extracted from S. leptolepis and L. equulus, respectively. The abundance of microplastics in the S. leptolepis was in the range of 0.2−5.56 item g-1 and in the L. equulus was 0.2−8.83 item g-1. The results show that both species contained microplastics in rather similar number. The abundance of microplastics were counted higher in gills followed by gastrointestinal tracts and muscle for both fish species. Gill and gastrointestinal tracts were considered as direct pathways for microplastics to enter fish tissues. Three types of microplastic were recorded with fiber was the dominant type of microplastic collected from most of the fish organs. Fragments appeared in higher number in the gills for both species, while film was observed in a very small number in all the fish organs. Fiber has been known to accumulate in fish from many different studies and it is related to the abundance of fiber in the aquatic environment.

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