Detection of plastic debris degrading into micro particles across all oceanic environments and inside of marine organisms is no longer surprising news. Microplastic contamination now appears as one of the world’s environmental main concerns. To determine the levels of microplastic pollution at sea, water samples were collected across a 4000 km-trajectory in the Tropical Eastern Pacific and the Galápagos archipelago, covering an area of 453,000 square kilometres. Furthermore, 240 specimens of 16 different species of fish, squid, and shrimp, all of human consumption, were collected along the continental coast. Microplastic particles were found in 100% of the water samples and marine organisms. Microplastic particles ranging from 150 to 500 µm in size were the most predominant. This is one of the first reports simultaneously detecting and quantifying microplastic particles abundance and their impact on marine organisms of this region.

The olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the most abundant of all seven sea turtles, found across the tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans in over 80 different countries all around the globe. Despite being the most common and widely distributed sea turtle, olive ridley populations have been declining substantially for decades. Worldwide, olive ridleys have experienced a 30–50% decline, putting their populations at risk and being considered an Endangered Species by the IUCN. Natural habitat degradation, pollution, bycatch, climate change, predation by humans and animals, infectious diseases and illegal trade are the most notorious threats to explain olive ridley populations rapidly decline. The present review assesses the numerous dangers that the olive ridley turtle has historically faced and currently faces. To preserve olive ridleys, stronger conservation initiatives and strategies must continue to be undertaken. Policies and law enforcement for the protection of natural environments and reduction in the effects of climate change should be implemented worldwide to protect this turtle species.

Seafood is considered one of the healthiest sources of food intake for humans, mainly because of its high protein content. However, oceans are among the most polluted environments, and microplastics have been widely reported to be ingested, absorbed or bioaccumulated by marine organisms. The different feeding behaviour may contribute to infer the amounts of microplastic particles accidently intake by marine organisms. We investigated the putative levels of microplastics in different edible species of fish, molluscs, and crustaceans. Plastic fragments larger than 200 μm were detected in the digestive tract of 277 out of 390 specimens (71.5 ± 22.2%) of the 26 different species analysed. There was no evidence of microplastic translocation or bioaccumulation in the muscle tissue of fish, molluscs, and crustaceans. Organisms with carnivorous feeding habits had the highest prevalence of plastic ingestion (79 ± 9.4%), followed by planktivorous species (74 ± 15.5%), and detritivorous species (38 ± 36.9%), suggesting a transfer through the food chain. Moreover, we found evidence that species with less selective feeding habits may be the most affected by the ingestion of large microplastic particles. Our results provide further evidence to the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in marine organisms representing a direct threat to marine wildlife, and to human health with potential consequences for future generations according to the One Health initiatives approach.

Seaweed aquaculture has become a profitable and an attractive alternative of cultivation thanks to its quick biomass production for food, feed, and other non-food applications. In addition, the ecosystem services generated by seaweed cultivation towards carbon fixation represents a more sustainable solution to the ocean’s acidification. The growth of elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) was evaluated in three plots with 200 propagules during a period of 70 days in a floating raft system covered by a fishing net underneath. Initial weight of propagules was 159.3 ± 12.74 g in wet biomass and 15.3 ± 1.43 g in dry biomass and were sampled up to 19 days (in the lag growth phase; period I), up to 33 days (in the exponential growth phase; period II) and up to 70 days (in the stationarity growth phase; period III). The variations of sea surface water temperature, salinity, turbidity (Secchi depth), total ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, and phosphate were determined. The growth increase was more evident in the exponential phase II when a dry biomass of 28.0 ± 2.48 (1153.3 ± 6.25 g in wet mass) was reached, more than 7 times the biomass of propagules with an average daily growth rate of 15.2% g.day^–1. The carrying capacity of the zone was estimated at 86.2% in the area where 53 cultivation units would be projected. The economic analysis presented a financial feasibility with a net profit of 19% over the projected income and an IRR of 16.5%, recovering the investment in an estimated period of 4.3 years. We recommend to continue with larger-scale studies to optimize the cultivation of K. alvarezii in the study area.

La ostra de Portovelo (Crassostrea cf. corteziensis) del estuario del río Chone, provincia de Manabí, Ecuador, supone un rubro de explotación artesanal y venta comercial para el consumo (particularmente cruda) sin conocerse su carga microbiana. Durante un año se evaluó mensualmente la calidad microbiológica (mesofílicos aerobios, coliformes totales, Vibrio spp., Escherichia coli y Salmonella) del bivalvo, así como los parámetros ambientales (temperatura, salinidad, sólidos disueltos y pH) en las aguas del banco. Los promedios anuales obtenidos en la carne de la ostra para los aerobios mesófilos fueron de 4.76 × 105 UFC/g, coliformes totales de 1.15 × 103 UFC/g y vibrios de 0.61 × 104 UFC/g. Aparte de ello existió presencia de Escherichia coli en los primeros meses del 2019 con valores hasta 7.70 x 102 UFC/g, y la presencia de Salmonella en el 25 % de las muestras los meses de marzo, abril y junio del 2019. Muchos de los valores sobrepasan las normativas internacionales y reflejan un alto riesgo para la salud pública al consumir este molusco sin haber sido previamente sometido a una depuración o procesado que disminuya la carga bacteriana. Los resultados muestran una alta variabilidad de valores durante el año, la cual produce diferencias significativas entre meses. Los mesofílicos aerobios y Vibrio spp. muestran la existencia de una fuerte asociación positiva con la temperatura, en tanto que los coliformes (incluyendo Echericha coli) exhiben asociación negativa con la salinidad y los sólidos disueltos, lo cual sugiere una relación con el periodo de lluvias, con mayor descarga y arrastre de contaminantes.