Preliminary Investigation on the Type and Ditribution of Microplastics in the West Coast of Karimun Besar Island

High anthropogenic activity on the west coast of Karimun Besar Island contributes certain amount of wastes, especially plastics. Plastics will be degraded due to natural mechanism to smaller parts and known as microplastics. Small size and wide spread distribution has caused microplastics can be found widely in the waters and coastal areas. This study aims to determine type and abundance of microplastic in sediment on the west coast of Karimun Besar Island. Sampling of sediment for microplastic was determined based on hydrodynamic conditions by placing quadrat in the highest tidal boundary area. Sediment samples were collected in February 2019 using 4 inch PVC pipe from two different depth, i.e 0-10 and 10-20 cm. Separation of microplastic particles from sediments was carried out in Marine Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science University of Riau through several stages, namely (a) drying, (b) separation of densities and (c) sorting visually. The results of the study found only 3 types of microplastic, i.e. fragments, films and fibers. Microplastic abundance in sediments was found between 1976.67-2203.33 particles/kg of sediment with fibers being the dominant type. Fiber has the highest abundance in both depths followed by films and fragments. ANOVA and t-test analysis, showed that the quantity of microplastic between stations and between two different depths were not significantly different (p > 0,05).