Published on September 26, 2023
Ahmedabad: A recent study has found that African blue swimming crabs (Portunus segnis), among the most popular species for food, that are captured commercially on the Gujarat coast, are laden with microplastics. All samples tested at all three sites studied — Jakhau in Kutch, Okha in Devbhoomi Dwarka and Veraval in Gir-Somnath — were found to have microplastic contamination. Researchers said the findings have implications on seafood safety and sea pollution mitigation.
The study, ‘Microplastic Occurrence in Commercial Crab (Portunus segnis) from the Western Coast of India and Pollution Indices: First Investigation and Evidence’ by Vasantkumar Rabari, Md Refat Jahan Rakib, Jigneshkumar Trivedi, Abubakr M Idris and Guilherme Malafaia, is now in preprint. The researchers are from the Department of Life Sciences, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University and institutions in Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.
The study said the species is ‘commercially important’ and took 150 specimens from the three known fishing sites. The guts and gills were removed and were treated for total digestion of organic tissues. The residues were treated with chemicals for further analysis and the fragments of microplastics were found, the study said.
‘The average abundance of microplastic contamination was found to be 0.8 pieces per gram and about 2.02 pieces of microplastic per individual. The contamination factor (CF) findings showed that Jakhau was a low-contamination site, while Okha and Veraval were moderately contaminated,’ the study said. The pollution risk index (PRI) indicated very high contamination of microplastics at all the study sites. The guts were found to be more contaminated than the gills. Male crabs were found to be more susceptible to ingesting microplastic than the females.
The researchers said plastic threads were the dominant contaminant in all three places. Other pollutants included fragments of films and foam. The microplastics found were polyethylene, nylon, polyurethane and polystyrene, they added.
Researchers said microplastic contamination across the seashore is a major issue and should be addressed for the safety of marine life and human life, as there is a high risk of microplastics becoming part of the food chain through seafood.
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