New research finds micro plastics in all arctic beluga whales tested
Mornings with Simi
English - November 22, 2019 18:48 - 13 minutes - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingBusiness News News Society & Culture Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
A pioneering study of seven beluga whales in Canada's remote Arctic waters has found micro plastics inside every single whale.
Researchers from Vancouver-based Ocean Wise worked with hunters from Tuktoyaktuk in Northwest Territories to collect samples from whales they harvested between 2017 and 2018.
They found an average of nearly 10 micro plastics, or particles less than five millimetres in size, in the gastrointestinal tracts of each beluga, with polyester being the most common type found in the whales.
Lead author Rhiannon Moore says she wasn't expecting to see so many micro plastics so far north.
Guest: Rhiannon Moore
Researcher at Ocean Wise and lead author of the study
A pioneering study of seven beluga whales in Canada's remote Arctic waters has found micro plastics inside every single whale.
Researchers from Vancouver-based Ocean Wise worked with hunters from Tuktoyaktuk in Northwest Territories to collect samples from whales they harvested between 2017 and 2018.
They found an average of nearly 10 micro plastics, or particles less than five millimetres in size, in the gastrointestinal tracts of each beluga, with polyester being the most common type found in the whales.
Lead author Rhiannon Moore says she wasn't expecting to see so many micro plastics so far north.
Guest: Rhiannon Moore
Researcher at Ocean Wise and lead author of the study