Characteristics of microplastics pollution in important commercial coastal seafood of Central Java, Indonesia

The contamination levels and characteristics of microplastics (MPs) were assessed in commercial seafood from the coastal region of Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. This study covers milkfish (Chanos chanos), blood cockles (Anadara granosa) and green mussels (Perna viridis). Green mussels had the highest abundance (70.7 ± 48.0 particles/individual), followed by blood cockles (18.3 ± 7.3 particles/individual) and milkfish (5.9 ± 4.3 particles/individual). Fragments dominated in seafood samples (37–87.6 %), except for milkfish, which was mainly dominated by fibres (65,5 %). MPs in the 50-100 µm size range were primarily found in bivalve samples (34–40 %), while larger particles (100-1000 µm) were abundant in milkfish (53.1 %). Most MPs detected were grey in blood cockles (51 %), brown in green mussels (50 %), and black and brown in milkfish (33 %). Regarding polymer types, rubber (12–14 %), styrene copolymers (9–13 %), and cellulose (4–25 %) dominated MPs in milkfish and green mussels. The three most important polymers in blood cockles were cellulose (40 %), polyamide (20 %), and polyethylene (11 %). These findings confirm that MPs contaminate our daily diet, implying that further research is needed into the potential health risks of ingested MPs.