Microplastic Occurrence in Mugil Cephalus

Microplastic (MP) ingestion by fish can not only impact the environment but also human health. This study determines abundance and composition (polymer, shape, size) of MPs ingested gray mullet (Mugil cephalus). A total 30 specimens were purchased from local market collected Lake Cernek located in Kızılırmak Delta, Türkiye fishermen. The digestive tracts removed digested with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to extract microplastics. share contaminated microplastics was 90%. average microplastic individual weight 2.87±0.27 MP/ind 0.014±0.001 MP/g respectively. length, weight, condition factor did correlate MP (Spearman’s correlation, p > 0.05). Four different polymer types determined tract specimens. polymers consisted 44.58% polyethylene terephthalate (PET), 34.94% polypropylene (PP), 10.84% (PE), 9.64% polyamide (PA). shapes fiber (67.47%), fragment (20.48%), film (12.05%). size range particles ranged between 132 μm 4850 μm, 1522.45±131.22 μm.