Back to Search
Start Over
No plastics detected in seal (Phocidae) stomachs harvested in the eastern Canadian Arctic.
- Source :
-
Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2020 Jan; Vol. 150, pp. 110772. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Nov 29. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Through collaboration with Inuit hunters, we examined the stomach contents of 142 seals (ringed seals [Phoca hispida; n = 135], bearded seals [Erignathus barbatus; n = 6], and one harbour seal [Phoca vitualina; n = 1]) hunted between 2007 and 2019 from communities around Nunavut to assess whether seals in the eastern Canadian Arctic ingest and retain plastics in their stomachs. The seals in this study ranged from juveniles to adults of up to 30 years of age, and 55% of the seals were males. We found no evidence of plastic ingestion in any of the seals suggesting that seals in Nunavut are not accumulating plastics (>425 μm) in their stomachs. These data provide important baseline information for future plastic pollution monitoring programs in the Arctic.<br /> (Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1879-3363
- Volume :
- 150
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Marine pollution bulletin
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 31787340
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110772