Urban fish are being fed a plastic diet

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-26 03:00

New Zealand

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Fish living near Dunedin City are ingesting around nine times more plastic than their rural cousins, according to a new study. Scientists checked the guts of fish at three spots: Dunedin City, Port Chalmers, and Pūrākaunui. Dunedin City fish had an average of 23 pieces of plastic in their bellies, while rural fish had less than three. The researchers say this study further supports the idea that being close to a city is an important factor in how many microplastics a fish is likely to consume.