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The presence of microplastics (MPs) in species of commercial interest is well reported. This work is a follow up of that carried out by Martinelli et al 2021, in which among others 11 individuals of Norway lobster sampled in the Off Ancona study area (Adriatic Sea) were found to be contaminated by MPs in gut, hepatopancreas and muscular edible part (tail). In this new trial, 4 lobsters from the same study area were analysed considering 3 different anatomical compartments: hepatopancreas, tail and claw. To evaluate external contamination during samples preparation, procedural blanks were processed. The entire hepatopancreas was extracted from the animal in a protected environment. This time only a dissected portion of the tail muscle was used for the analysis (without exoskeleton), while one claw per individual was accurately washed with MillQ water before being processed (muscle together with exoskeleton). The analyses showed that the hepatopancreas of all individuals were contaminated by a total of 14 MP particles, in shape of both fibers and fragments, ranging from 50 to 300 μm and consisting in 4 different polymers (Polycaprolactone, Polyester, Polyethylene, Polypropylene). MPs ranging from 20 to 50 μm were found in all the 4 analysed portions of tail muscles: in total 7 fragments consisting in 5 different polymers (Polyvinylchloride, Polyester, Polyethylene terephthalate, Polypropylene and Polyurethane). In the claw samples, only 1 fragment of Polyester and 1 of Polyethylene were found in two different individuals among the 4 analysed. Concerning the hepatopancreas, the main difference with the previous study is a much lower incidence of MP fragments ranging from 50 to 100 μm. The results for tail muscles are not comparable between the two studies considering the different amount of tissue analysed, however MPs were found again in all the new samples, thus confirming their presence in edible tissues. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/426846/document, In MICRO 2022, Online Atlas Edition: Plastic Pollution from MACRO to nano

This Collective Article presents new information about the occurrence of 20 taxa that belong to six Phyla: one Cnidaria, one Ctenophora, two Annelida, four Mollusca, two Arthropoda, and ten Chordata. These records were reported from ten countries from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea as follows: Spain: early colonization signs of the Mar Menor lagoon by the cigar jellyfish Olindias muelleri; France: second record of the sea chub of the genus Kyphosus in French Mediterranean waters; Italy: first record of the marbled crab Pachygrapsus maurus in Sardinian waters; first records of the polychaetes Malmgrenia polypapillata and Levinsenia tribranchiata in the Tyrrhenian Sea; new record of the deep-sea squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii in the Tyrrhenian Sea; first record of the pignosed arrowtooth eel Dysomma brevirostre in the Adriatic Sea; Tunisia: first documented record of the blue butterfish Stromateus fiatola and new record of the iconic great white shark Carcharodon carcharias in the Gulf of Gabes; Slovenia: first records of the sea slug Diaphorodoris alba and the sharpnose sevengill shark Heptranchias perlo; Montenegro: new record of the rare tope shark Galeorhinus galeus; Greece: new records of the rabbitfish Chimaera monstrosa and the electric ray Tetronarce nobiliana; first published record of the nuribranch Discodoris rosi; Turkey: first record of the ctenophore Hormiphora plumosa at country level; first records of the anomuran decapod Munida speciosa and the Mediterranean tripodfish, Bathypterois mediterraneus from the Levantine Sea; Cyprus: first documented record of the nuribranch Scyllaea pelagica; Lebanon: first record of the killer whale Orcinus orca from the Levantine Sea.