Microplastic Content in Fish and Sea Water at Air Tawar Coast, Padang City, Indonesia

Abstract

Every year, millions of tons of plastic contaminate marine ecosystems, disrupting the natural balance and endangering marine life. Marine debris, especially plastic, is exposed to sunlight and repeated physical activities in the ocean, eventually breaking down into microscopic particles known as microplastics. This research aims to identify the presence of microplastics in fish and seawater at Air Tawar Coast, Padang City, Indonesia, based on their shapes, colors, and sizes. Seawater samples were collected at 3 stations using purposive random sampling along the direction of net trawling. Water samples were collected using a plankton net and filtered horizontally at the sea surface. Fish samples were obtained from the catches of fishermen, using trawl net (maelo pukek). The fish sampled were Selar and Kembung fish. Microplastics found in seawater and fish exhibited various shapes, including fibers, films, fragments, and pellets, with pellets and granules being the most dominant shapes. The colors of microplastics found in this study were black, brown, red, orange, blue, yellow, green, and purple, with dark colors (black and brown) being the most dominant. The abundance of microplastics at station 1 was 140.12 particles/m³, at station 2 was 151.27 particles/m³, and at station 3 was 129.61 particles/m³. The number of microplastic particles found in Kembung was higher than in Selar. On average, Selar fish contained 228 particles/individual, while Kembung fish contained an average of 267.5 particles/individual. The smallest particle size was found in pellet form, with a size of 8.12 µm, while the largest particle size was found in film form, measuring 174.56 µm.