International Journal of Marine Science 2016, Vol.6, No.41, 1-4
1
Research Report Open Access
Record of Litter Ingestion by Cod (
Gadus morhua
) Collected from Masfjorden,
Western Norway
Laith A. Jawad
1
,
, Odd-B. Humborstad
2
, Per G. Fjelldal
3
1 Flat Bush, Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand
2 Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Bergen, Norway
3 Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Matre Research Station, Matredal, Norway
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Marine Science 2016, Vol.6, No.41 doi
Received: 26 Aug., 2016
Accepted: 10 Oct., 2016
Published: 19 Oct., 2016
This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Jawad L.A., Humborstad O.B. and Fjelldal P.G., 2016, Record of Litter Ingestion by Cod (
Gadus morhua
) Collected from Masfjorden, Western Norway,
International Journal of Marine Science, 6(41): 1-4 (doi
Abstract
We present the finding of a wild caught Atlantic cod (
Gadus morhua
) that had ingested a metal beverage can, common
marine debris. The can was detected when the fish was radiographed alive as part of a scientific experiment. A possible cause for the
death of the fish was the blockage of the digestive tract by the can. Due to paucity in marine debris monitoring programs and lack of
impact studies of diverse marine debris in Norwegian waters it is not possible to assess the scale and extent of the effects of this type
of pollution on cod and other species.
Keywords
Pollution; Anthropogenic debris; Ingestion; Marine debris; Atlantic Cod (
Gadus morhua
)
Introduction
Aquatic debris of anthropogenic origin has been paid attention internationally for some time (Miranda et al., 2016),
and the aquatic environment has shown to be severely affected by the impact of these materials (Lusher et al., 2013).
Since the second half of the 20th century, there are many reports on ingestion of aquatic debris by different
organisms all over the word (e.g. Kühnet al., 2015). Ingestion of aquatic debris can cause wounds, ulcerating sores,
blockage of the digestive tract leading to starvation and death, reproductive inability, and failure to avoid
predators (Oehlmann, 2009; Wright et al., 2013). In nature, fish are likely to come in contact with debris and get
affected, but the likelihood is lower if compared with seabirds or turtles, where the prevalence of plastic ingestion
is high (Van Franeker et al., 2011). So far, there are 18 species of rays/sharks, and 74 other fish species that have
been found to ingest marine debris (Kühn et al., 2015). In the family Gadiedae, there are report on ingestion of
marine debris (e.g. Foekema et al., 2013), and plastics (Rummel et al., 2015), such as plastic cups (Hoss and
Settle, 1990).
Plastic materials are the most common debris that is ingested by fish and other aquatic animals (Van Franeker et
al., 2011). Other materials with different sizes such as fishing net scraps, and pieces of wood and ropes have also
been reported to be ingested by fish (Laist, 1997; Possatto et al., 2011). Much of the marine debris stems from
consumer goods, and beverage cans, bottles and alike are one of the commonest marine debris found (Sheavly and
Register, 2007). In Norway, there are several newspaper reports on different debris, including beverage cans in the
stomach of Atlantic cod (
Gadus morhua,
Linnaeus, 1758), a commercially important species.
Except for the historical record by Gudger (1949) on a shark that had ingested a tin, there are no reports on such
incidence. The aim of the present study is to report on this subject, which is an important aspect of sea pollution
by debris, and its effect on marine organisms. It is about an unusual incident of a cod individual ingesting a
beverage can and its potential impact.
1 Material and Methods
The 680mm (TL) and 2888g specimen used in this study was caught at depth of 4 meters in a fyke net in the inner
