Potential microplastics impacts on African fishing resources

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2022-02, Vol.806 (Pt 2), p.150671-150671, Article 150671
• Main Authors: Masiá, Paula, Mateo, Juan L., Arias, Andrés, Bartolomé, Marlene, Blanco, Carmen, Erzini, Karim, Le Loc'h, François, Mve Beh, Jean Hervé, Power, Deborah, Rodriguez, Noemi, Schaal, Gauthier, Machado-Schiaffino, Gonzalo, Garcia-Vazquez, Eva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biodiversity threats; Environmental Pollution; Fisheries; Fresh Water; Humans; Meta-analysis; Microplastics; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Research landscape
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150671

Microplastic (MP) pollution is increasing worldwide and affecting aquatic fauna in different ways, which endangers current aquatic resources in a still unknown extent. MP-induced threats to marine fauna are critical for developing countries, where waste treatment may be not optimal and coastal communities rely heavily on marine resources for dietary protein. In this study, we assess the importance of MP pollution for African fishing resources. A new meta-database was created from published studies, containing 156 samples with more than 6200 individuals analysed for microplastic content from African and adjacent waters. A combination of research landscape analysis and rank analysis served to identify main research targets and to determine regional fishing resources especially affected by MP. A network of relevant terms showed fish health as a concern in Mediterranean waters, environmental pollution in freshwater and an emphasis on plastic items in South Africa. MP contents in fishing resources from Nile countries and the Gulf of Guinea, followed by Tunisia, are significantly higher than in other regions. Some of the most exploited species are among the most polluted ones, highlighting the threat of MP pollution in valuable but already compromised African fishing resources. Large geographic gaps with almost absent data about MP in aquatic fauna were revealed, especially in freshwater and in East African coasts. These results emphasize the importance of increasing the coverage of MP pollution in African fishing resources, and improving plastic waste management in the continent. [Display omitted] •Microplastics are emerging contaminants that endanger aquatic resources.•There is a lack of studies about microplastics in specific areas like Africa.•Meta-database of 156 samples of fishing organisms from quality publications•High microplastic pollution in Nile countries, Gulf of Guinea and Tunisia fish•Some of the most fished African species are highly microplastic-polluted.•African fishing resources can be threatened by microplastics in some regions.