Hundreds of fish species, including many that humans eat, are consuming plastic

 TAKING NOTES:

• Trillions of barely visible pieces of plastic floating in the world’s oceans
• Researchers concerned about microplastics minuscule
• Findings of fish consuming plastic are on the rise
• Detection methods for microplastics are improving
• Ocean plastic pollution continues to increase.

• Solving the plastics puzzle

• A global problem

• Risk factors

• Effects of a plastic diet

   

Summary: Researchers are concerned about microplastics.

 386 marine fish species are known to have ingested plastic debris

Findings of fish consuming plastic are on the rise.

Detection methods for microplastics are improving and because ocean plastic pollution continues to increase. The problem came from the stomach of a seabird in 1969

Many fish were eating plastic, this problem in 555 fish species worldwide.

Studies that we're able to detect this previously invisible threat revealed that plastic ingestion was higher than we had originally anticipated.

Personal Reflection: People are the most cautious about plastic pollution. Scientific techniques for detecting microplastics have improved substantially in the past five years. Many of the earlier studies may not have found microplastics because researchers couldn’t see them.

fish are actually consuming more plastic over time as ocean plastic pollution increases globally.