Are We Eating Fish Or Plastic? Scientists Found High Amount Of Micro Plastic In Fish And Other Sea Food Items

The presence of plastic in fishes, oysters, mussels and shellfish has attracted the attention of environmentalists and health experts over the last few years. Plastic pollution is one of the grave dangers that is threatening to take over the very existence of life on Earth. The non-biodegradability of plastic is one of the chief factors that ensures its prolonged existence on land as well as in sea.

Microscopic particles of plastic then start entering the body systems of the marine creatures, which are then caught for human consumption. After people eat such plasticized food items, tiny microparticles of plastic get absorbed into the blood stream and body tissues. This obviously means that people who consume sea foods on a regular basis have accumulated plastic in their body system, which may lead to the occurrence of a diverse range of chronic diseases.

Yahoo reported that seafood consumers consume 780,000 pieces of plastics in a year, out of which 4,000 are absorbed into the body. The condition becomes even worse due to repeated accumulation of harmful plastic particles in the blood. This phenomenon is referred to as bio-accumulation and can have dire consequences, not just for particular individuals but for an entire population.

Dr. Janssen, an expert in the field, said that, "The next generation or two generations might say they left us a rotten plastic legacy because now we are suffering in various ways from that legacy. We have to do something about it. We have to act now."

Experts say that this may be controlled by implementing recycling strategies, so that less amount of plastic wastes will be dumped into the landfills or oceans. As per a report published recently by The Independent, our society is completely obsessed over the use of plastic products, so the least people can do is to encourage others to return the used plastic bottles and jars, which may be directly reused or recycled. Even if it is done, then also it will take a few decades before the plastic in fishes and other sea creatures is completely removed.