19th March 2021 By Staff Reporter | news@foodticker.co.nz | @foodtickernz
A quarter of the fish in the Hauraki Gulf have microplastics in their guts, according to new research from NIWA.
Experiments carried out by two masters students from the NIWA and University of Auckland Joint Graduate School of Coastal and Marine Science found microplastic fragments could find their way through gut lining and into muscle tissue of New Zealand fish species.
The research found some fish species ingested more microplastics than others in the Hauraki Gulf, but that almost 25% of all fish sampled had microplastics in their guts.
The researchers said while this gut damage did not lead to any significant effects on growth or mortality in the 10-week experiment, it demonstrated that microplastic had significant negative effects on the fish that eat it.
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