Fish Are Seeking Out Plastic For Food Says Study

The fish in the ocean seem to be actively seeking out for plastic debris for food as these smell alike to their natural prey according to a new study published on Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The micro-plastics when in the ocean, get covered with biological material like algae which attracts the fish towards itself.

The scientists researching on this presented schools of wild-caught anchovies and found that they had consumed plastic debris present in ocean as well as clean plastic which was never present in the water body. This happened as they found the odour of ocean debris similar to the food they consume. This, say the scientists was the first behavioural evidence that chemical signature of the debris was attractive to the marine organism and that the odour could be of significance for studying further.

This also signifies the alarming threat of plastics in water bodies as consuming plastic by fish is no more an accident but they are seeking out for plastic as food. “When plastic floats at sea its surface gets colonised by algae within days or weeks, a process known as biofouling. Previous research has shown that this algae produces and emits DMS, an algal based compound that certain marine animals use to find food. [The research shows] plastic may be more deceptive to fish than previously thought. If plastic both looks and smells like food, it is more difficult for animals like fish to distinguish it as not food,” Matthew Savoca, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and lead author of the study told The Guardian.

Another paper which was published in  the journal Science had alleged that juvenile fish were attracted to micro-plastics ‘like teenagers after junk food’. However, this led to a controversy and the paper was withdrawn. This shows that scientists have had to battle a lot to understand the enormous effect of plastic on marine life and to curb the issues.