Marine microplastic pollution is becoming more visible and pervasive in various aquatic environments and species, including those intended for human consumption. The present study evaluated the occurrence of suspended microplastics in surface waters, the water column, and bivalves, such as Perna viridis and Atrina pectinata in Sorsogon bay. Microplastics were detected in all sampling sites and bivalve tissue samples. Surface water (0 m) and water column (5 m) samples taken from six sampling stations representing spatial consideration of the bay showed an average of 5.55 ± 1.74 items/m 3 (range: 2.27 - 1.66 items/m 3 ) and 5.80 ± 1.94 items/m 3 (range: 1.93 - 14.55 items/m 3 ), respectively. The mean microplastic number in farmed mussels and wild pen shells collected around the bay varied from 0.31 - 2.50 items/individual for mussels and 0.93 - 4.27 items/individual for pen shells. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that microplastics made up 55% of the debris analyzed, with an ad ditional 45% natural materials, including aluminum silicate, cellulose, and chitin. It is becoming increasingly evident that Sorsogon Bay is not ex empt from this paradigm. Hopefully, this will drive the community to support measures to address this issue, such as social perception and behavioral change.
Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., et al. (2015) Marine Pollution. Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean. Science, 347, 768-771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352
Lebreton, L.C.M., van der Zwet, J., Damsteeg, J.W., Slat, B., Andrady, A. and Reisser, J. (2017) River Plastic Emissions to the World’s Oceans. Nature Communications, 8, Article No. 15611. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15611
UN Environment (2017). Marine Litter Socio Economic Study, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi. Kenya.
Abreo, N.A. (2018) Marine Plastics in the Philippines: A Call for Research. Philippine Science Letters, 11, 20-21.
Abreo, N.A., Macusi, E., Blatchley, D. and Cuenca, G. (2016) First Evidence of Plastic Ingestion by the Rare Deraniyagala’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon hotaula). IAMURE International Journal of Ecology and Conservation, 19, 16-36.
Abreo, N.A.S., Macusi, E.D., Blatchley, D.D. and Cuenca, G.C. (2016) Ingestion of Marine Plastic Debris by Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) in Davao Gulf, Mindanao, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 145, 17-23.
Aloy, A.B., Vallejo, B.M. and Juinio-Menez, M.A. (2011) Increased Plastic Litter Cover Affects the Foraging Activity of the Sandy Intertidal Gastropod Nassarius pullus. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62, 1772-1779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.021
Tekman, M.B., Gutow, L., Macario, A., Haas, A., Walter, A. and Bergmann, M. (2017) Interactions between Aquatic Life and Marine Litter. LITTERBASE.
Obusan, M.C.M., Rivera, W.L., Siringan, M.A.T. and Aragones, L.V. (2016) Stranding Events in the Philippines Provide Evidence for Impacts of Human Interactions on Cetaceans. Ocean & Coastal Management, 134, 41-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.09.021
Orale, R. and Fabillar, L.A. (2011) Coastal Waste Transport in Catbalogan City, Philippines and Nearby Towns. Iranica Journal of Energy & Environment (IJEE), 2, 92-103.
Song, Y.K., Hong, S., Jang, M., Han, G. and Shim, W. (2015) Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics in the Sea Surface Microlayer in Jinhae Bay, South Korea. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 69, 279-287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0209-9
Desforges, J.P.W., Galbraith, M. and Ross, P.S. (2015) Ingestion of Microplastics by Zooplankton in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 69, 320-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0172-5
Wright, S.L., Thompson, R.C. and Galloway, T.S. (2013) The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A Review. Environ Pollution, 178, 483-492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031
Farrell, P. and Nelson, K. (2013) Trophic Level Transfer of Microplastic: Mytilus edulis (L.) to Carcinus maenas (L.). Environ Pollution, 177, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.01.046
Watts, A.J., Lewis, C., Goodhead, R.M., Beckett, S.J., Moger, J., Tyler, C.R., et al. (2014) Uptake and Retention of Microplastics by the Shore Crab Carcinus maenas. Environmental Science & Technology, 48, 8823-8830. https://doi.org/10.1021/es501090e
Seltenrich, N. (2015) New Link in the Food Chain? Marine Plastic Pollution and Seafood Safety. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123, A34-A41. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.123-A34
Coyle, C., Novaceski, M., Wells, E. and Liboiron, M. (2016) Newfoundland: Civic Laborator for Environmental Action Research. LADI and the Trawl.
Li, J., Qu, X., Su, L., Zhang, W., Yang, D., Kolandhasamy, P., et al. (2016) Microplastics in Mussels along the Coastal Waters of China. Environ Pollution, 214, 177-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.04.012
Otaka, I., Kumagai, K., Inagaki, Y., Shimoyama, M., Saegusa, K. and Hara, T. (2002) Simple and Inexpensive Software Designed for the Evaluation of Color. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 133, 140-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9394(01)01213-2
GESAMP (2019) Guidelines for the Monitoring and Assessment of Plastic Litter in the Ocean.
Cordova, M.R. and Hernawan, U.E. (2018) Microplastics in Sumba Waters, East Nusa Tenggara. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 162, Article ID: 012023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/162/1/012023
Khoironi, A., Hadiyanto, H., Anggoro, S. and Sudarno, S. (2020) Evaluation of Polypropylene Plastic Degradation and Microplastic Identification in Sediments at Tambak Lorok Coastal Area, Semarang, Indonesia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 151, Article ID: 110868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110868
de Castro, J. (2021) Physical Characterization and Spatial Variability of Microplastics in Coastal Surface Waters in Roxas, Palawan, Philippines. Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology (JSET), 9, 1-11.
Syakti, A.D., Hidayati, N.V., Jaya, Y.V., Siregar, S.H., Yude, R., et al. (2018) Simultaneous Grading of Microplastic Size Sampling in the Small Islands of Bintan Water, Indonesia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 137, 593-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.005
Browne, M.A., Dissanayake, A., Galloway, T.S., Lowe, D.M. and Thompson, R.C. (2008) Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.). Environmental Science & Technology, 42, 5026-5031. https://doi.org/10.1021/es800249a
Yong, M.M.H., Leistenschneider, C., Miranda, J.A., Paler, M.K., Legaspi, C., Germanov, E., et al. (2021) Microplastics in Fecal Samples of Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus) and from Surface Water in the Philippines. Microplastics and Nanoplastics, 1, Article No. 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-021-00017-9
Khalik, W., Ibrahim, Y.S., Tuan Anuar, S., Govindasamy, S. and Baharuddin, N.F. (2018) Microplastics Analysis in Malaysian Marine Waters: A Field Study of Kuala Nerus and Kuantan. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 135, 451-457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.07.052
Zhao, S., Zhu, L., Wang, T. and Li, D. (2014) Suspended Microplastics in the Surface Water of the Yangtze Estuary System, China: First Observations on Occurrence, Distribution. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 86, 562-568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.032
Li, J., Green, C., Reynolds, A., Shi, H. and Rotchell, J.M. (2018) Microplastics in Mussels Sampled from Coastal Waters and Supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Environ Pollution, 241, 35-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.038
Galarpe, V.R.K.R., Jaraula, C.M.B. and Paler, M.K.O. (2021) The Nexus of Macroplastic and Microplastic Research and Plastic Regulation Policies in the Philippines Marine Coastal Environments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167, Article ID: 112343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112343
Curren, E., Kuwahara, V.S., Yoshida, T. and Leong, S.C.Y. (2021) Marine Microplastics in the ASEAN Region: A Review of the Current State of Knowledge. Environmental Pollution, 288, Article ID: 117776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117776
Andrady, A.L. and Neal, M.A. (2009) Applications and Societal Benefits of Plastics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364, 1977-1984. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0304
Yu, X., Ladewig, S., Bao, S., Toline, C.A., Whitmire, S. and Chow, A.T. (2018) Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics at Selected Coastal Sites along the Southeastern United States. Science of the Total Environment, 613-614, 298-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.100
Andrady, A.L. (2011) Microplastics in the Marine Environment. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62, 1596-1605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030
Bilugan, Q.M., Limbago, J.S. and Gutierrez, R.L. (2021) Detection and Quantification of Microplastics from Cultured Green Mussel Perna viridis in Bacoor Bay, Cavite, Philippines. Sustinere: Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 5, 90-102. https://doi.org/10.22515/sustinere.jes.v5i2.166
Nam, P.N., Tuan, P.Q., Thuy, D.T., Quynh, L.T.P. and Amiard, F. (2019) Contamination of Microplastic in Bivalve: First Evaluation in Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Earth Sciences, 41, 252-258. https://doi.org/10.15625/0866-7187/41/3/13925
Qu, X., Su, L., Li, H., Liang, M. and Shi, H. (2017) Assessing the Relationship between the Abundance and Properties of Microplastics in Water and in Mussels. The Science of the Total Environment, 621, 679-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.284
Digka, N., Tsangaris, C., Torre, M., Anastasopoulou, A. and Zeri, C. (2018) Microplastics in Mussels and Fish from the Northern Ionian Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 135, 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.063
Otsuka, H. and Sentā, N.N.K. (1988) Characteristics and Genesis of Volcanic Ash Soils in the Philippines. Tropical Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Halsband, C. and Galloway, T.S. (2011) Microplastics as Contaminants in the Marine Environment: A Review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62, 2588-2597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025
Rochman, C., Andrady, A., Dudas, S., Fabres, J., Galgani, F., Lead, D., et al. (2016) Sources, Fate and Effects of Microplastics in the Marine Environment: Part 2 of a Global Assessment. GESAMP.
AECOM (2016) Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan of Sorsogon City.
Catarino, A.I., Macchia, V., Sanderson, W.G., Thompson, R.C. and Henry, T.B. (2018) Low Levels of Microplastics (MP) in Wild Mussels Indicate that MP Ingestion by Humans Is Minimal Compared to Exposure via Household Fibres Fallout during a Meal. Environ Pollution, 237, 675-684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.069