Baby fish prefers plastic to natural food

Young fish are eating microplastic particles (that comes from plastic waste materials that have broken down in oceans and other water forms) while ignoring their natural food source of free-swimming zooplankton, a new study has found.

Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden found that the young fish showed changed behaviours and stunted growth which lead to greatly increased mortality rates.

Microplastic particles (less than 5mm in size) originate from large plastic waste products that fragment into smaller pieces, or from manufactured plastics of microscopic size.

This is for the first time that scientists have shown that development of fish is threatened by microplastic pollution.

Oona Lönnstedt of Uppsala, told BBC News, ‘They are basically fooled into thinking it’s a high-energy resource that they need to eat a lot of. I think of it as unhealthy fast food for teenagers, and they are just stuffing themselves.’

And if they grow big enough for humans to consume, what would be its effect on humans!