First evaluation of microplastics in two commercial fish species from the lagoons of Bizerte and Ghar El Melh (Northern Tunisia)

Abstract Microplastic contamination was investigated, for the first time, in the gastrointestinal tract of two commercial fish species Sarpa salpa and Liza aurata from the lagoons of Bizerte and Ghar El Melh, during February 2019. Microplastics, ranging from 0.2 to 5 mm, were found in the two investigated fish species with high levels in fishes from the lagoon of Bizerte (65.33 ± 6.50 and 66.40 ± 5.12 items individual−1 in L. aurata and S. salpa, respectively). In the lagoon of Ghar El Melh, microplastic ingestion showed statistically significant variability between the two species (42.00 ± 6.08 items individual−1 in S. sapla and 22.40 ± 3.97 items individual − 1 in L. aurata). Isolated microplastics appeared in a variety of coloured types, such as fibres> fragments> films and were identified as Polypropylene and Polyethylene polymers by FTIR-ATR analysis. The obtained results indicate the growing threat that affects the two sampling sites and suggest the inclusion of the studied fish species on the list of marine plastic ingestion bioindicators.