Warmer oceans and plastic chemicals could change how fish grow

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-01-26 11:01

Australia; NSW

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Fish could grow at slower rates and require more energy from food as a result of global warming combined with plastic pollution, according to Australian and international researchers. The researchers say when an environmentally relevant concentration of Bisphenol A - a chemical from plastic pollution - leeches into the ocean, it can disrupt hormone regulation for fish at specific temperatures. While Bisphenol A can decrease the amount of energy a fish needs to grow if the water is 24 degrees Celsius, it can hamper the growth of a fish when the water is 30 degrees Celsius, they say. This means warmer water as a result of global warming could combine with Bisphenol A levels to effect the size of and population of fish species, including some of the most commercially valuable.