DETECTION OF MICROPLASTICS IN TURKISH SALMON PURCHASED FROM SUPERMARKET

1. INTERNATIONAL ANKARA SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CONGRESS, Ankara, Türkiye, 21 - 22 Aralık 2024, ss.138-148, (Tam Metin Bildiri)

Microplastics (MP), which enter the aquatic environment by taking resources from the

breakdown of large-sized plastics and various products, pose serious problems for the

environment. Microplastics mixed into water sources can harm both water quality and aquatic

life. Like many organisms, fish cannot distinguish small size (˂5 mm) microplastics and can

ingestion them. Aquatic products that ingest microplastics along with the food chain, may not

be suitable for consumption by humans. In this study, the extent to which large-sized rainbow

trout, previously known as Black Sea Salmon and later renamed as Turkish Salmon exposed to

microplastics in the aquatic environment was examined. Within the scope of the study, 5 whole

and unprocessed Turkish Salmon were purchasedfrom the fish section of the supermarket. The

digestive system of the fish was removed and potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution was added

to organic tissue samples for microplastic analysis. The resulting organic solution was filtered

to ensure that microplastics were retained on the filter paper. Filter papers were examined under

a microscope. The mean length and weight of the fish were calculated as 43.40±0.91 (33.3-

48.5) cm and 1078.8±109.1 (724-1298) g, respectively. It has been determined that the digestive

system of all fish purchased from the market is contaminated with microplastic. While a total

of 115 microplastics were counted in the digestive systems of all samples, the abundance of

microplastics varied between 14-31 MP/individual (mean 23±8.6 MP/individual).

Microplastics were classified as fibril (thin or fibrous, flat plastic), fragment (hard, rough

plastic), film (thin, flimsy plastic), foam (light, sponge-like plastic) and pellet (hard, round

plastic) types. All particles were also classified according to color and size (˂0.1 mm, 0.1-0.3

mm, 0.3-0.5, 0.5-1.0 mm, 1.0-5.0 mm). Accordingly, the dominant characteristics of the

detected microplastics were fibril type (73.0%), size between 0.1-0.3 mm (29.6%), elongated

shape (64.3%) and blue and black colors (42.6%). This study showed that Turkish Salmon were

exposed to microplastics originating from the aquatic environment that they live in.