The Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) has published a new paper in the Journal Marine Pollution Bulletin on:

Microplastics in the stomach contents of common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) stranded on the Galician coasts (NW Spain, 2005–2010)

This study made use of 35 samples of common dolphin stomach contents to investigate the presence of microplastics. Microplastics were identified in all the samples analysed, an average of 12 items per stomach although abundance varied widely from one stomach to another. Most plastic items were small fibres although some fragments and a bead were also found. Excluding the smallest fibres as possible airborne contamination, the estimated occurrence of microplastics could drop to as low as 94%. Although factors affecting accumulation of microplastics and their effect on common dolphins are unknown, the fact that all stomachs analysed contained microplastics is a cause for concern.

The publication can be dowinloaded in the link