A Plastic Diet For Fish

Young fish exposed to high concentrations of polystyrene favour the particles over more natural foods, a recent study has found.

20:53 09 June 2016

Young fish exposed to high concentrations of polystyrene become hooked on eating plastics in the seas in the same way that teenagers prefer unhealthy fast food, a study conducted by Swedish researchers has claimed. As a result, the young perch are smaller, slower and more susceptible to predators.

 

Concerns have been growing about the amount of plastic in the seas. A study published last year estimated that about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans annually. 

 

Lead author Dr Oona Lonnstedt, from Uppsala University, said: "They all had access to zooplankton and yet they decided to just eat plastic in that treatment. It seems to be a chemical or physical cue that the plastic has, that triggers a feeding response in fish,"

 

"They are basically fooled into thinking it's a high-energy resource that they need to eat a lot of. I think of it as unhealthy fast food for teenagers, and they are just stuffing themselves."

 

The researchers called for plastic micro-beads to be banned in cosmetics, something that the US has already done.

 

"It's body care products, it's not just toothpaste and scrubbers; some mascara and some lipsticks have plastic in them too," said Dr Lonnstedt.

 

"It's a silent threat that we haven't really thought about before. We need to ban the products that have micro-beads in them."