Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1769647085800patricia-jekki-jLDQ6a3umok-unsplash_cropped_processed_by_imagy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">📷༘ Patricia Jekki, Unsplash</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Microplastics were found in a third of hundreds of fish surveyed in the coastal waters of several Pacific Island nations, researchers said in a study published Thursday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/1/28/how-to-assess-microplastics-in-our-bodies-scientists-have-a-plan-0908">How to assess microplastics in our bodies? Scientists have a plan</a></div><p>The scale of contamination varied significantly across locations however, and the researchers warned against &quot;alarmist&quot; interpretations.</p><p>&quot;We have to accept that almost everything, whether it&#x27;s table salt or beverages, people are finding plastics in all kinds of different sources,&quot; said co-author Amanda Ford, a senior lecturer at the University of the South Pacific.</p><p>The research examined nearly 900 fish from 138 species -- all of them consumed locally -- taken from waters off Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.</p><p>Overall, just under a third contained some microplastics, less than the global average of 49 percent.</p><p>But almost 75 percent of fish samples from Fiji&#x27;s waters were affected, while just five percent were in Vanuatu.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/1/27/health-threat-of-global-plastics-projected-to-soar-0825">Health threat of global plastics projected to soar</a></div><p>Ford said the low levels there were &quot;surprising&quot; and potentially the result of different waste practices or ocean currents.</p><p>Pacific nations may be particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution given limited waste management systems and rapid urban growth on some islands, the study said.</p><p>And the findings, published in the PLOS One journal, are especially relevant given most Pacific communities rely on fish as a key source of nutrition and livelihood.</p><p>Still, Ford warned &quot;it&#x27;s important we&#x27;re not alarmist with this.&quot;</p><p>The findings are simply &quot;evidence that plastic that ends up in the ocean breaks down into smaller pieces -- it can get into food,&quot; she told AFP.</p><p>The health implications of consuming microplastics remain unclear, especially at the low levels of contamination seen in many of the samples.</p><p>&quot;We can&#x27;t draw clear conclusions yet on the risks,&quot; she said.</p><p>A series of headline-grabbing studies in the last few years have reported detecting microplastics throughout human bodies -- inside blood, organs and even brains.</p><p>However, some of this research has been criticized recently by scientists warning the results could be detecting plastic from laboratories or confusing human tissue with plastic.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/2/13/invisible-threat-how-microplastics-are-polluting-our-cities-and-bodies-0850">Invisible threat: How microplastics are polluting our cities and bodies</a></div><p>No one disputes however that these mostly invisible pieces of plastic are ubiquitous throughout the environment -- they have been found everywhere from the tops of mountains to the bottom of oceans.</p><p>The volume of plastic in the ocean is estimated to be anywhere between 75 and 199 million tons, according to the United Nations Environment Program.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7I3Q4KQq7lM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/76LuGmiMJNM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Microplastics were found in a third of hundreds of fish surveyed in the coastal waters of several Pacific Island nations, researchers said in a study published Thursday.</p>

Microplastics were found in a third of hundreds of fish surveyed in the coastal waters of several Pacific Island nations, researchers said in a study published Thursday.

Microplastics in one-third of surveyed Pacific Island fish

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Microplastics in one-third of surveyed Pacific Island fish

Ben Strang,

Agence France-Presse

Published January 29, 2026 08:40 AM PHT

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Wellington

New Zealand

pacific

environment

pollution

fish

plastics

microplastic

Agence France-Presse

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