Plastic Particle Ingestion by Wild Freshwater Fish: A Critical Review

Plastic pollution, especially microplastics (MP) pollution, is a hot topic in both mainstream media and scientific literature. Although rivers are potentially the major transport pathway of this pollution to the sea, plastic contamination in freshwater bodies is comparatively understudied. Microplastic pollution in freshwater fish is of growing interest, and while few studies exist, discrepancies do occur in the sampling, extraction, and identification of MP and in the expression of the results. Even though those differences hamper comparisons between some studies, a comparative work has been performed to identify the factors influencing MP ingestion by fish and consequently to target potential ecological traits that can be used to monitor species. Monitoring plastic ingested by fish will give relevant ecological information on MP pollution. This review focuses on MP ingestion by wild freshwater and estuarine fish. In addition to providing an overview of the existing data concerning contamination levels in wild freshwater fish, we aimed to (1) propose several overall recommendations on the methodologies applicable to all biota, (2) compare MP contamination levels in fish and in their environment, and (3) determine which parameters could help to define fish species for monitoring.