Through seafood consumption, microplastic (MP) pollution is potentially threatening human health. Commercial bivalves in particular are a cause of major concern because their filter-feeding activity directly exposes them to MP in the water column and they are then ingested by humans. Here, we provide a quantitative and qualitative baseline data on MP content in the soft tissues of three commercially important bivalves (Ruditapes decussatus, Cerastoderma spp. and Polititapes spp.) collected in Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. The abundance of MPs (items per soft tissue weight) did not significantly differ among species. On average, R. decussatus exhibited the highest MP abundance (on average, 18.4 ± 21.9 MP items g^–1 WW), followed by Cerastoderma spp. (11.9 ± 5.5 MP items g^–1 WW) and Polititapes spp. (10.4 ± 10.4 MP items g^–1 WW). Overall, 88% of the MPs found were synthetic fibres, the majority of which were blue (52%). Size categories >0.1–1 mm and >1–5 mm were the most common (60% and 34% respectively). The most represented polymers were polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS). The unexpectedly high number of MPs recorded in the three commercially exploited species suggests that this semi-closed lagoon system is experiencing a higher anthropogenic pressure than are open coastal systems.

通过食用海鲜，微塑料（MP）污染潜在地威胁着人类健康。商业双壳类动物尤其引起人们的极大关注，因为它们的滤食活动直接将其暴露于水柱中的MP中，然后被人类摄入。在这里，我们提供了葡萄牙南部Ria Formosa泻湖中收集的三个商业上重要的双壳类动物（Ruditapes decussatus，Cerastoderma spp。和Polititapes spp。）的软组织中MP含量的定量和定性基线数据。MP的丰度（每软组织重量的项目）在物种之间没有显着差异。平均而言，圆角杜鹃表现出最高的MP含量（平均18.4±21.9 MP项g^–1 WW），然后是Cerastoderma spp。（11.9±5.5 MP项目g ^–1 WW）和Polititapes spp。（10.4±10.4 MP项g ^–1 WW）。总体而言，发现的MP中有88％是合成纤维，其中大多数是蓝色的（52％）。> 0.1-1 mm和> 1-5 mm的尺寸类别最为常见（分别为60％和34％）。代表最多的聚合物是聚乙烯（PE）和聚苯乙烯（PS）。在三个商业开发物种中记录到的MP数量出乎意料地高表明，该半封闭泻湖系统比开放沿海系统承受的人为压力更高。