A Mini-Review of Microplastics in Aquaculture: Sources, Toxicity,
Countermeasures and Prospects

Ghanem SF

doi:10.23880/ijoac-16000325

International Journal of Oceanography & Aquaculture Research Article 8 min read

A Mini-Review of Microplastics in Aquaculture: Sources, Toxicity, Countermeasures and Prospects

Ghanem SF^*

^* Corresponding author

ISSN: 2577-4050 10.23880/ijoac-16000325 Received: June 08, 2024 Published: July 22, 2024

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Keywords

Microplastics Toxicological Effect Aquaculture Health RIsk Pollution Control

Abstract

Plastic waste has become an environmental problem of global concern. Since microplastics (MP) are accumulated in all marine compartments due to direct emissions from the fragmentation or technosphere of macroplastic waste, they constitute a potential risk for aquatic organisms that ingest them as well as for humans through the consumption of fishery products. Data on the effects and damages that MP debris may exert on marine biota and marine food supply chains is scarce, hence, the study of microplastics impact in aquaculture has become a universal research hotspot. This review shed light an overview on sources of MP, their deleterious impact on marine environment, their toxicological effects on marine organisms by affecting their survival rate, growth, behavior and reproduction which ultimately will reduce the economic benefits of aquaculture. Moreover, the potential health risks that MP pose to human at multiple levels through aquaculture products consumption are also discussed. Strengthening aquaculture management, ecological interception and purification as well as improving fishing gear and packaging are considered to be effective removal strategies for controlling MP pollution. As practical measures, new remote sensing technology and portable MP monitoring system are two prospects known to be widely applied. Finally, the supervision of MP pollution in aquaculture must be established by enforcing rapid waste management policies and strengthening the construction of laws and regulations.

Introduction

There has been a continuous increase in plastic production over the past seventy years, rising from 1.5 million tons in the 1950s to 367 million tons in 2020 [1]. Microplastics (MP) are polymeric matrices or synthetic solid particles with regular or irregular shapes, which mostly refer to plastics smaller than 5 mm in size [2, 3]. The subsequent production of plastic waste are linked to the growth of the human population, which has augmented from about 3.1 billion in 1961 to about 7.3 billion in 2015 and is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050 [4]. MP formed through wear of plastic-containing articles or fragmentation are introduced into the marine environment in various means [5, 6]. The mass production and consumption of these MP have led to their accumulation in natural habitats resulting in negative impacts on marine biota and the blue economy [7]. MP can directly enter the food chain or indirectly contaminate it due to the leaching of their potentially harmful chemicals which will affect the human health [8, 9, 10]. To limit the adverse effects of MP pollution, many countries have set control measures for the reduction or elimination of plastic bags by preventing the use of plastic fishing gears in aquaculture and applying ecological interception of microplastics by aquatic plants [11, 12, 13]. The aim of this review is to summarize the different sources of MP, discuss the toxicological and pathological effects of MP on aquatic species and human heath, and provide modern countermeasures and feasible prospects to control MP pollution in aquaculture.

Sources of MP in Aquaculture

The impact of MP pollution is widespread in the various aquatic environment and the aquaculture products.

MP in aquaculture can be divided into two main sources: microplastics introduced from the external environment comprising marines, rivers, atmospheric sedimentation and terrestrial land. Furthermore, MP produced during aquaculture process such as aging, feeding, packaging of aquaculture products and wear of plastic fishing gears represent another source [14]. Figure 1 summarizes the means in which microplastics enter aquatic environments [14].

Figure 1: Different Methods of Microplatics entrance to the aquatic environment and aquaculture products.

Impact of MP on Aquatic Environment and Marine Species

The harmful effect of MP in aquaculture is first manifested in aquaculture environment. Organic additives in microplastics, as phthalates and Bisphenol A pose a threat to aquatic organisms since they classified as endocrine disrupting chemicals when released into water [15]. Concerning chlorinated MP, they release Hydrochloric acid to the water in the process of decomposition, resulting in acidification of the aquatic environment [16]. Moreover, these MP accumulated in the marine environment after their release causing pollution diffusion [17].

As an important source of human protein, MP enter the aquaculture products through water environment and have numerous adverse effects on aquatic organisms [18]. These plastic wastes can improve the absorption efficiency of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to chemical contaminants [19], reduce the growth rate of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and cause its DNA damage [20] shorten intestinal villi of hybrid snakehead (Channa maculata × Channa argus) and stimulate its immune response [21]. MP can also cause neurotoxicity, behavioral change and slow down the growth and survival rate of aquatic organisms which will reduce the quality of aquaculture products which will ultimately lead to economic losses to aquaculture sector [22].

Adverse Effects of MP on Human Health

As consumers of aquaculture products, these MP have negative impacts on human health since they reduce the activity of the digestive enzyme which will affect human digestive absorption [23]. They can also promote the accumulation of antibiotics and microplastic organic additives in aquaculture products which increase the health risks they pose to human such as oxidative stress, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, cytotoxicity, teratogenicity and the increase in the intestinal microflora resistance [24, 25]. Consequently, microplastic pollution needs to be paid attention in aquaculture.

Modern Countermeasures and Prospects for MP Pollution in Aquaculture

Recently, many reports have discussed the treatment methods of MP pollution, as electro-coagulation [26], membrane bioreactors [27], and zirconium metal-organic framework-based foam material filtration process for seawater [28]. These new technologies represent purification efficiency for MP above 95 %, which may help to successfully reduce the entrance of MP to the aquatic environment. Blocking the external sources of MP and reducing their production in aquatic environment by applying ecological interception and purification, environmental fishing gears and packaging as well as strengthening their management are new countermeasures for controlling MP pollution [12, 13]. Moreover, there are some helpful prospective methods to examine MP pollution in aquaculture such as portable microplastic monitoring system [29] and remote sensing technology [30, 31]. To solve this environmental problem, cross-field cooperation and standardization of analytical process that help to improve relevant laws and regulations must be taken into consideration and applied as urgent directions to ensure sea food safety [14, 32].

Conclusion

Current estimations predict that the production of MP levels will continue to be highly accumulated in aquatic environments and surge exponentially in the near future due to mass consumption and inadequate waste management. To solve this problem, further studies are required to fill the gaps in understanding the impact of these microplastics with different sizes on aquatic species since the available data to accomplish a reliable assessment of the risks to human health is very scarce. Furthermore, analytical methods for the detection and quantification of microplastics in aquatic environments and in fishery products should be further standardized validated and developed.

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