Blue whales consume 45 kg of microplastics a day  

The problem is huge

A new study in the USA reveals that blue whales – the largest animal in the world – consume 10 million pieces of microplastic every day! The research team placed tracking devices on 191 whales of three species living near the coast of California and observed their movements.

The whales were feeding at depths between 50 and 250 meters, where the highest concentration of microplastics is found in the water body. The scientists then calculated the size and number of the whales’ food and came up with three scenarios. The most likely of these, he wants blue whales to consume 10 million pieces of microplastics a day. And if we take into account the feeding season that lasts from 90 to 120 days, we are talking about more than a billion pieces a year.

The largest animal on the planet is also the largest consumer of microplastics, consuming 43.6 kg per day. At the same time, the largest whale consumes 4 million pieces a day.

The way microplastics are consumed by whales is surprising. While it’s easy to imagine it entering their mouths as they hold it open to scan their prey, it’s not the main reason they consume microplastics. It was therefore found that 99% of what enters the whales’ body was already present in the body of their prey.

This worries us because humans also eat this prey. We eat sardines and anchovies and krill is the base of the food chain.

Previous research has shown that krill in a tank with microplastics eat them. Now that researchers have data on how much microplastics are being consumed by whales, they will look to investigate how this affects their health, as “ the dose is the poison ”.

The research was published in Nature Communications .