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Marine fish are toxic and carcinogenic

29.07.2013

It turns out that many seafood, which we consider environmentally friendly and healthy, are literally saturated with toxins, primarily plastic components.

This unpleasant conclusion was made by scientists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Scientists studied the behavior of large predatory fish in the waters around Hawaii and found that marine predators swallow an incredible amount of pieces of plastic and other debris that people throw into the sea. Such studies were carried out for the first time, previously scientists only touched on the accumulation of the most prominent carcinogens, previously scientists only touched on the accumulation of the most prominent carcinogens during the life of marine predators. A new study shows that the problem is much more serious than previously thought. More attention needs to be paid to the spread of toxins from marine litter into groundwater and the food chain, which can eventually bring dangerous chemicals to the dinner table.

Over a six-year study period, the scientists examined the stomach contents of 595 fish from 10 open-ocean predatory species, including commercially valuable tuna and billfish. As a result, various pieces of debris were found in the stomachs of 7 out of 10 fish species. It occurred with varying degrees of frequency in different species, but the almost universal "littering" of valuable commercial fish is a cause for concern.

So, one of the fish species, the common opah (Lampris guttatus), is eaten not only in Hawaii, but throughout the world. At the same time, two species of these fish living in Hawaiian waters were found to be contaminated with garbage: out of 140 studied fish, 58% of small-eyed opah and 43% of large-eyed fish ate plastic. Another representative of large fish, Alepisaurus ferox, was "littered" in 30% of cases. This type of fish is not so often used as food, but it is common in the world's oceans and to some extent reflects the global picture.

In other words, on average, half of predatory marine fish contain substances in their tissues, the effects of which on humans are poorly understood. However, there is little doubt that plastic and its decay products will not improve health.

Unfortunately, litter in the ocean has already become a serious problem. Pieces of plastic, spilled oil and other dangerous chemicals are ingested by seabirds, turtles, small fish and even bottom echinoderms such as sea cucumbers. However, despite the prevalence of studies documenting the environmental impacts of the increase in plastic debris in the world's oceans, there have been few observations of large fish ingesting plastic.

The new study surprised scientists: the most common plastic found in the stomachs of deep-sea fish, although it was previously thought that they eat less plastic than fish that live closer to the surface. Apparently, deep-sea fish swallow plastic when they occasionally swim up to the surface. Scientists believe that deep-sea predators rarely see plastic debris, so they almost always grab new unusual "game". It is also possible that over time, the plastic itself sinks to the bottom and poisons the ecosystem.

The consequences of plastic entering the body of fish are still poorly understood. Scientists do not yet know how long the decay products of plastic can stay in the tissues of fish and whether they can enter the human body through fish products. Many synthetic materials are able to absorb organochlorine pesticides, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons from sea water. If these carcinogens are able to enter the human body through fish meat, they can cause poisoning and cause cancer.

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