Plastic waste hits Bicheno

BICHENO on Tasmania’s East Coast has been identified as a marine-plastic blackspot by new national research.

Scientific sampling along the south-east Australian coast found high concentrations of microplastics in sea-floor sediments — which could be consumed by marine species and contaminate the whole food chain — even on remote stretches of coastline.

Researchers expected to find high levels of pollution close to capital cities but the highest concentration of microplastic filaments in the nation was detected at the Tasmanian fishing and tourist town.

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies scientists tested 42 locations in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and found an average of more than three plastic filaments, or particles, in every millilitre of marine sediment.

The locations sampled included Sydney Harbour, Jervis Bay, Eden, Port Phillip Bay close to Melbourne and towards The Heads, Port Adelaide and the coast south of Adelaide, Hobart’s Derwent Estuary and Tasmania’s East Coast.

IMAS researcher Scott Ling, who led the study published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, said the discovery of microplastic pollution at every location showed how easily plastic was dispersed in the marine environment.

“We were surprised by both the quantity of microplastics we found in marine sediments and their wide dispersal everywhere we looked along the south-east Australian coast,” Dr Ling said.

“Our study took samples of marine sediments from depths of between five and 13 metres at sites close to the major population centres as well as remote sites.

“While we expected to find high levels of pollution close to the major capitals, we did not expect to find similar concentrations far from urban centres.

“In fact, the highest concentration of 12 microplastic filaments per millilitre of sediment was from Bicheno.”

The report said the microplastics found in sediment around Bicheno was dominated by what appeared to be plastic rope fibres, a material used heavily in maritime activities.

Dr Ling said microplastics were created both by the fragmentation of larger pieces of plastic in the ocean and were manufactured as micro-beads for use in cosmetics, or micro fibres in clothing.