Distribution and occurrence of microplastics in fish of the Han River

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

We investigated the distribution of microplastic in fish inhabiting in the Han River with 5 species. Sampling sites were deliberately selected, where the degree of pollution from microplasic and habitats of fish were taken into account. According to the sites, the highest abundance was the North Han River (28.2±14.9 particle/fish), followed by the downstream of the Han River (19.9±9.9 particle/fish) and the South Han River (16.8±13.4 particle/fish). According to the species, the highest abundance was carp, followed by Crucian carp, skygager, catfish and sky carp. There is a significant correlation between the abundance and eating habit. Omnivore fish such as Carp and Crucian carp showed the highest abundance and insectivore like skin carp was the least abundance. Micropalstic abundance in fish was positively related to an increasing fish body and weight although the model explained a small portion of the variation in the data. Additionally the abundance in water did not affect the abundance in fish. Polypropylene was the most abundant polymer type, followed by polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene in fish. Consequently, this study will make a contribution to better understanding of microplastic exposure to the aquatic life and provide the information to manage and reduce microplastic in freshwater.