Plastics In Shellfish Research

Words: 449
Pages: 2

Plastic In Shellfish In the article written by Ken Christensen about microplastics in shellfish is more about microplastics in the ocean rather than the shellfish. His claim is that humans are polluting the ocean with plastics which is a cause of concern to not only the marine creatures like the shellfish but humans too. Christensen’s interview with Sarah Dudas, a shellfish biologist, brings insight to his reasoning. In 2016, she and students from Vancouver Island University planted thousands of the animals into the coast of the British Columbia. Through a span of three months they gathered and dissolved the creatures and found large amounts of plastic particles. This caused concern for the aquaculture community as they could unintentionally be polluting their crop. If the plastics are in the shellfish humans eat then the people eating it may also have such plastics in their bodies. Which could cause major health issues just like it does in the animals. This study helped not only those affected but also contributed to the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Pollution Research Program. …show more content…
In 2013 he had sampled the the coast of British Columbia for microplastics and found 9,200 particles per cubic meter of seawater. They largely consisted of polystyrene beads and microbeads which are common in most products produced for human consumption. This information is to show the contributions people have on ocean waters. There is a subtle trend being shown where humans polluting the water goes into the animals which is consumed by people. So in the end plastics will end up inside the people that made it. From toothpaste to fake snow, they all end up in the