Presence and Characterization of Microplastics in Coastal Fish around the Eastern Coast of Thailand

Marine microplastic has been in the limelight recently. This study aimed to describe microplastic types ingested by 274 fish from Thailand's eastern coast in 2020 and to compare the microplastic content among different feeding traits. The microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts and gills were extracted, analyzed, and identified using FT-IR spectroscopy. Approximately 13.14% of the total specimen ingested microplastics, with an average of 0.14 items per individual. The detection frequency of microplastics was relatively high compared with other regions in Thailand but relatively low compared to global standards. Of the microplastic contaminated specimens, 56.41% had at least one piece of microplastic in their gastrointestinal tract. Pelagic (14.47%) species were found to have ingested more microplastics than the demersal (12.63%) group. Dominant aspects found included PET (as in polymers), fiber (as in shape), and black (as in color). However, microplastic numbers fluctuated with the size, weight, and feeding behavior of fish. This result suggested that the pelagic has a higher exposure risk and microplastic ingestion in relatively small quantities in a range of fish species. Our results indicated that the occurrence of microplastics in fish is not influenced by organism habitat or trophic level, although the characteristics of pelagic fish might significantly increase the chance of exposure to microplastics in pelagic species.