THE fact that more than 65 per cent of fish in our waters contain microplastics must serve as a dire warning to many Fijians.
A recent scientific research from the University of the South Pacific School of Marine Studies (SMS) led by Dr Marta Ferreira revealed 67.5 per cent of fish found along the coastal environment of the greater Suva area had ingested microplastics.
They looked at common species namely kanace, kabatia, kake and nuqa and found that higher levels of microplastics were observed in the fish on the east side of the Suva Peninsular foreshore compared to fish on the West side (vanua Navakavu, which is a marine protected area five km west of Suva).
Microplastics are tiny pieces ranging from five millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter.
These plastic pollutants are being washed into the ocean working their way into the creatures that live in them.
That means these ocean microplastics are entering the food chain and, ultimately, our bodies.
Furthermore plastic microparticles are already being found within the flesh of fish eaten by humans, according to a new study.
A team of scientists from Malaysia and France discovered a total of 36 tiny pieces of plastics in the bodies of 120 mackerel, anchovies, mullets and croakers.
They warned that as plastic attracts toxins in the environment, these poisons could be released into people’s bodies after they ate the fish. The plastics found included nylon, polystyrene and polyethylene.
“Microplastics can either be primary microplastics, manufactured as microbeads, capsules, fibres or pellets or secondary microplastics, which are the result of larger pieces of plastic breaking down into smaller pieces,” said USP Master of Science student Andrew Paris.
Mr Paris, undertook sample research between the waters of Tonga and Fiji last year as part of his Masters thesis. He said the results were shocking.
All too often we see plastics dumped carelessly into the environment without considering the effects it will have,” he said.
“For instance a single PET bottle will take around 450 years to completely break down.”
A separate study conducted by Nina Wootton from the University of Adelaide found that 50.8 per cent of fish sold in municipal markets in Fiji contained microplastics.
And on average, these fish had twice as many pieces of plastic in their gut.
Speaking to The Advertiser in Australia, she said fish in Fiji contained mostly film from plastic bags and packaging, compared with filaments from synthetic clothing found in Australian fish.
“From a food safety point of view I think fish is still fine to eat,” she said.
“I think there is more plastic coming through our drinking water and apparently dust particles than from seafood. For me it’s more a worry about fish health than human health.”
Mr Paris added fish in Fiji had microplastics in its guts, and it is safe to eat since most Fijians gutted them before cooking.
“I am optimistic we can drastically reduce plastic usage with a great cast of people and organisations championing the cause, however, a lot of the issues we face, come down to the mentality of the community,” he said.
“Perhaps if people realised the plastic they discard carelessly could actually end up back on their dinner tables they would think twice.” Littering is arguably a big problem in Fiji, despite anti-litter laws in place.
Take a trip just out of Suva or out of town areas and you’re bound to come across several rubbish dumps or just half burnt rubbish thrown carelessly along the sidewalks.
The Litter Act 2008 prescribes penalties for littering for various offences and includes littering from a vehicle, failing to safeguard traffic and remove litter, and abandoning dangerous litter. However limited resources have not been able to enforce these laws.
Minister of Waterways and Environment, Mahendra Reddy admitted, it has been more than 10 years since the enforcement
of the Litter Act 2008 and its effective implementation was quite challenging.
So fellow Fijians, do think of the environment and how you dispose of your rubbish. Our seafood, our natural environment
and us are going to face the consequences of our actions.
