Study of The Abundance and Characteristics of Microplastic Contamination in The Fish of Capture Results of Fishermen in The Lake Towuti Waters, East Luwu, South Sulawesi

Abstract

Microplastics (<5mm) are a serious threat, both to aquatic organisms and to humans directly. This is due to microplastics in waters can absorb various toxic substances, so as consuming aquatic organisms that have been contaminated with microplastics can endanger human health. So far, research on microplastics has generally been carried out in marine waters, but in this research it was conducted in fresh waters, especially on fish caught by fishermen which are often consumed by local communities in the waters of Towuti Lake, East Luwu, South Sulawesi. Sampling was obtained from fishermen, namely: 15 fish of butini (Glossogobius matanensis), 15 fish of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), 15 fish of snakehead (Channa striata), 11 fish of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and 15 fish of flowerhorn (Cichlasoma timaculatum). Identified, then measured body weight and total length. The gastrointestinal tract was dissected and taken then soaked in 20% KOH for 14 days, then observed microplastics with a stereo microscope. The result is an abundance of 4.20-9.60 items/individual, five color variants, namely: blue dominates, black, transparent, red and green, two form variants, namely: line dominates and fragments. The dominance of the blue items (34.09-67.52%) is thought to be due to the availability of a lot in general in the waters, while the dominance of the line shape (75.21-95.83%) is thought to be because the shape of the line resembles the shape of prey from fish such as phytoplankton and zooplankton.