Researchers make alarming discovery after sampling common types of seafood: 'It's very concerning'

Researchers at Portland State University discovered that microplastics are in the seafood that humans eat. 

What's happening?

According to Phys.org, which relayed the university's findings, the scientists looked at the meat from six different fish and crustaceans: black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp. The report was published in Frontiers in Toxicology, and researchers found microfibers and microplastics in the meat of 180 out of the 182 animals they sampled.

Of those, pink shrimp, which are filter feeders, had the highest concentration, while Chinook salmon had the lowest. All six species had the materials present. 

"We found that the smaller organisms that we sampled seem to be ingesting more anthropogenic, non-nutritious particles," professor Elise Granek said. "Shrimp and small fish, like herring, are eating smaller food items like zooplankton. Other studies have found high concentrations of plastics in the area in which zooplankton accumulate and these anthropogenic particles may resemble zooplankton and thus be taken up for animals that feed on zooplankton."

In other words, many of these animals mistake the plastic materials for food and eat them, and instead of digesting them, they sit in their systems or pass into their tissues and muscles. 

Why are microplastics in fish important?

It has become increasingly clear that microplastics have infiltrated every aspect of our planet. They're found in soil, the oceans, and our food. Even in this study, researchers expected to find the material in the digestive tracts of the species they were studying. 

"It's very concerning that microfibers appear to move from the gut into other tissues such as muscle," ecotoxicologist Susanne Brander said. "This has wide implications for other organisms, potentially including humans too."

The impact of microplastics on humans is still the subject of research, but the substance has been linked to health problems ranging from infertility to kidney issues. 

What's being done about microplastics?

While this study was less about the removal of microplastics and more about locating them, there is plenty of research being done on how to handle this growing problem. 

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Scientists have found a way to remove microplastics from soil and discovered a means of turning them into a material that is stronger than steel.

Researchers at the University of Alabama also found a way to fully break down plastic, which could eliminate microplastics at their source, rather than waiting to do so once they enter the environment. 

This problem will continue to grow until it's properly addressed, but science is making strides in the fight to help clean our planet.

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