Researchers at the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA), at the University of Algarve, found microplastics in mussels off the coast of the Algarve. The presence of microplastics, which was not expected, was detected this summer, with the main incidence in the Sagres area.
Maria João Bebianno, director of CIMA, revealed to Sul Informação that “it was with some surprise that we detected some microplastics in mussels, oysters and red mullets”, in an investigation funded by the JPI project, of the European Union.
The person in charge of the center says that «at the outset, I thought we were not going to detect anything, but we found, on the Portuguese coast, several mussels with microplastics, mainly in the area of Sagres, but also in Portimão».
The case of the presence of microplastics in bivalves is more worrying than in fish, because “in the case of fish, most microplastics are being detected in the viscera, which are not part of the diet. But, in the case of bivalves, we eat everything».
According to the researcher, it is now important to understand the amount of plastic that we are accumulating. «A first study on the identification of microplastics in human feces has already been presented and this is a way for us to find out. However, we do not yet know what effects this may have».
If the practical consequences of ingesting microplastics in humans is not fully known, in the case of bivalves it is known that «their accumulation makes them consider that they are satiated, so they stop feeding and do not develop».
Maria João Bebianno explained that the data already known about the presence of microplastics in the Algarve are «a first approach, very preliminary. It is important to take more regular samples to see if the situation holds. The fact is that microplastics were detected».
The director of CIMA also revealed to the Sul Informação that «we are already doing other work, to see what happens in the clams, but we are at a very preliminary stage and we still don't have results. What we want to know is if there is any replication of what we found in mussels».
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