Microplastics - Is Even Gone Into The Stomachs of Deep Sea Creatures In Sea And Ocean

July 21, 2019 - Scubareefing

Microplastics are pervasive from the surface to the seafloor and are probably entering the food chain.

That’s the conclusion of a new study of plastic debris measuring less than 5 millimeters across carried out by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

And it means the scale of pollution could be larger than previously estimated, with more microplastic found hundreds of metres down than in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world.

Using underwater robots to filter seawater, the researchers found around the same amount of microplastic particles near the surface as in the deepest waters they surveyed. 

Perhaps more startling, they found roughly four times the concentration in the midwater range than in waters near the surface.

And microplastics were discovered in all the animals sampled as part of the study, suggesting the material is entering the food chain via marine animals such as pelagic crabs and giant larvaceans.