Ingestion of macroplastic debris by the common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the Western Equatorial Atlantic

Ingestion of macroplastics by common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the Atlantic Ocean

“…A plastic bowl with an area of 99.57 cm 2 was found in a specimen of common dolphinfish caught in the western equatorial Atlantic in 2011 (Menezes et al, 2019). These authors claimed that this piece of plastic material was the largest ever found in the stomach of that species, but the piece of plastic bag found in the specimen caught for this present study was slightly larger (105.6 cm 2 ).…”

“…Plastic debris has been reported worldwide in the stomachs of the common dolphinfish. For instance, pieces of plastic bags, a plastic bowl, pieces of rope, polyethylene sheets, wrappers, bottle caps, plastic ribbons, and even a badminton shuttlecock have been found in dolphinfish from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean (Manooch et al, 1983;Massutí et al, 1998;Vaske Junior and Lessa, 2004;Rudeershausen et al, 2010;Vanghese et al, 2013;Choy and Drazen, 2013;Brewton et al, 2016;Menezes et al, 2019). This large epipelagic species is known to be a voracious top predator, feeding on a wide range of pelagic and demersal organisms, including cephalopods, crustaceans, and several fish belonging to the Carangidae, Balistidae, Tetraodontidae, Exocoetidae, and Scombridae families (Massutí, et al, 1998;Carbonell et al, 1999;Varghese et al, 2013;Brewton et al, 2016).…”

“…This ingestion of a wide range of prey, which has been associated with the dolphinfish's opportunistic, voracious feeding nature, can increase the probability of the passive intake of plastic through prey (i.e., secondary ingestion), especially in large predatory fish such as the dolphinfish (Massutí et al, 1998;Varghese et al, 2013;Alomar et al, 2017;Neto et al, 2020). Thus, few studies have reported on macroplastic debris found in the stomachs of common dolphinfish on a global scale (Monooch et al, 1983;Mussuti et al, 1998;Vaske-Junior and Lessa, 2004;Rudershausen et al, 2010;Varghese et al, 2013;Choy et al, 2013;Brewton et al, 2016;Menezes et al, 2019). These studies were carried out between 1984 and 2011, and most of the specimens were sampled from along the Atlantic Coast of the United States (Fig.…”

“…2). However, occurrences of macroplastics in the stomachs of common dolphinfish have only been reported in the last ten years (Menezes et al, 2019).…”

“…These authors claimed that this piece of plastic material was the largest ever found in the stomach of that species, but the piece of plastic bag found in the specimen caught for this present study was slightly larger (105.6 cm 2 ). Menezes et al (2019) noted that the absence of common prey in its stomach was due to the large size of the macroplastic bowl, which made it difficult for the specimen to ingest new prey by blocking the digestive tract. In this current study, the presence of intact prey may indicate the recent ingestion of fish larvae, even with the presence of macroplastics in the stomach.…”