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A quarter of fish sold in markets contains man-made debris

File photo.

File photo.


Cheryl Santa Maria
Digital Reporter

Thursday, October 8, 2015, 4:57 PM - Up to a quarter of fish sampled from California and Indonesia fish markets contained man-made debris -- including plastic -- in their guts, according to a study from U.S. and Indonesian-based researchers.

According to Phys.org, the study is the first to link man-made debris to the fish that winds up on people's dinner plates.

"It's interesting that there isn't a big difference in the amount of debris in the fish from each location, but in the type—plastic or fibre,"  lead author Chelsea Rochman told Phys.org.

"We think the type of debris in the fish is driven by differences in local waste management."

The team sampled 76 fish from markets in Indonesia and California.


RELATED: Nearly half of all U.S. seafood is wasted


All of the fish from Indonesia contained plastic, but no man-made fibres. In California, 80% of the fish contained man-made fibres. The paper's authors are quick to point out that the debris is only in the fishes' guts and humans are only likely to ingest it if they are eaten whole.

Scientists are still working to determine if the chemicals in the plastic can be transferred to the meat.

Researchers believe the high presence of plastic in Indonesian fish can be linked to the country's lack of purified drinking water, which forces residents to drink bottled water.

Plastic isn't as big of a problem in the U.S., thanks to advanced waste collection and recycling practices.

Researchers think the fibres present in California fish are the result of runoff from washing machines.

A paper on the findings was published Thursday in Scientific Reports.

Sources: Phys.org | Flickr | Scientific Reports

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