Author(s): Vivek Singh Bisht and Deepti Negi

Abstract: Plastics have been sporadically reported in the aquatic ecosystem by scientists as early as 1950s. Every year about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the sea which is the result of its exponential production growth. The different sources of this plastic debris include packaging materials, utensils, cosmetics, plastic materials used in nets, lost nets, cages, and waste from fishing vessels. Defragmentation of this plastic debris by physical or biological (including plastic degrading bacteria) process results in the formation of smaller particles (<5mm) termed as ‘microplastics’, includes much smaller nanoplastics (<150μm). These omnipresent particles, when ingested directly or indirectly by the aquatic organisms, enters the diverse food web. These contaminated fishes, when consumed by humans, results in trophic transfer of microplastics to human which can cause adverse health effects. Microplastics also act as a vector of several contaminants, harmful additives, heavy metals, chemicals and pathogens.

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