Microplastic in the marine environment of the Red Sea – A short review

Abstract

Microplastics are omnipresent in the marine environment. Their bioaccumulation in fish and other marine biota is a concern due to the potential human health risks from exposure through seafood sold in markets. There is a global effort afoot to take inventory of microplastic contamination in the world’s main water bodies. This includes an understanding of the sources, the trophic transfer and the fate of microplastics in aquatic systems. Studies on the state of microplastic pollution in the Red Sea have appeared only in the last 5 years. Nevertheless, they gave insight into the abundance of microplastic particles within the marine environment of the Red Sea. The following is a review of these studies.