Mangaluru : Traces of plastic found in various types of fish on the Mangaluru coast has caused great concern among researchers. It is said that it was not only the fish that were affected, but tortoise and other marine species were also found to be affected due to plastic.

Addressing a programmed held to mark World Ocean Day on Wednesday, principal scientist at the city’s unit of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Prathiba Rohit stated that the marine life along the coast had been eating plastic. She further said that researchers had found plastic in the fish from the past eight years and that was due to the disposal of plastic into the ocean. She informed that the catch of fish had also decreased due to that.

This was not a problem only on the Mangaluru coast but all over the world. Plastics that were thrown into the water have become a source of food to marine life, she added.

She revealed the shocking fact that one piece of plastic was enough to kill about 100 dolphins and the foreign material had also led to stunted fish growth. Further, she said that, consuming fish that had eaten plastics was harmful to humans also.