TY - JOUR T1 - Low plastic ingestion rate in Atlantic Cod (<em>Gadus morhua</em>) from Newfoundland destined for human consumption collected through citizen science methods JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/080986 SP - 080986 AU - Max Liboiron AU - France Liboiron AU - Emily Wells AU - Natalie Richárd AU - Alexander Zahara AU - Charles Mather AU - Hillary Bradshaw AU - Judyannet Murichi Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/14/080986.abstract N2 - Marine microplastics are a contaminant of concern because their small size allows ingestion by a wide range of marine life. Using citizen science during the Newfoundland recreational cod fishery, we sampled 205 Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) destined for human consumption and found that 5 had eaten plastic, an ingestion prevalence rate of 2.4%. This ingestion rate for Atlantic cod is the second lowest recorded rate in the reviewed published literature (the lowest is 1.4%), and the lowest for any fish in the North Atlantic. This is the first report for plastic ingestion in fish in Newfoundland, Canada, a province dependent on fish for sustenance and livelihoods.Highlights (3–5 points, 85 char max including spaces)Plastic ingestion rate of 2.4% for Atlantic Cod (n=205)First recorded baseline for fish in Newfoundland, CanadaThis plastic ingestion prevalence rate is among the lowest recorded to dateUsed citizen science to collect GI tracts from fish destined for human consumption ER -