Assessment of the Microplastic Pollution of Kuwait's Marine Environment

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Discarded plastic in marine environment has become an important environmental issue in the last 15 years all over the world. About half of the plastic produced each year is discarded. It has been estimated that up to 10% of produced plastic ends up in the oceans, where it persists and accumulates for long time. Large plastic fragments eventually degrade into smaller pieces. Small fragments of plastics called microplastics (5mm or less) are considered to be harmful to the marine ecosystem due to their bio-available size, magnification of harmful pollutants, and release of degradation products and additives. These plastic fragments therefore have the potential of harming the base of marine food chain. There is no information on microplastics in Kuwait’s coastal water or the Arabian Gulf. In this proposed study, Kuwait’s beaches, seawater, and marine biota will be sampled. Sediment samples will be collected from 50 locations along the Kuwait’s coast. Seawater sampling will be conducted during 40 1-km trawls in coastal waters using 0.3-mm neuston net. Clams and fish will also be examined for the presence of microplastics. Microplastic fragments will be separated from these matrixes, cleaned, counted and chemically treated to remove nonplastic material and characterized using atomic force microscopy-infra red spectrometry. The project’s outcome will include an assessment of the microplastics in beach sediments from intertidal zone, in coastal water, and in selected biota. The project will be executed through seven tasks.