[katieHaylor (OP)]

Steve asks:

If microplastics are affecting fish in the oceans, is this now in the food chain that we are consuming?

Can you help?

[chris]

Any takers?

[chiralSPO]

Yes:
https://gizmodo.com/first-evidence-that-microplastics-travel-up-the-food-ch-1823262468
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117343294

[evan_au]

Most of the recognisable microplastics are in the gut of the fish; largish pieces of plastic could get stuck in the gut and kill the fish.

A seal that eats the fish will end up with the same plastic in its gut - but since the seal is much bigger than the fish, plastic which got stuck in the fish should pass straight through the seal.

Humans often "clean" a fish, and discard the guts, so we don't eat the plastic; but tiny fish, oysters and prawns are often eaten whole, microplastic and all.

More subtly, chemicals in the plastics could be absorbed by the fish, and humans could absorb those chemicals while eating the fish, cleaned or not.

[Bored chemist]

In the case of small fish (etc) eaten whole the plastic will end up in our guts... for a while.

[Emilelix]

I like the lion but voted for the raccoon butterfly fish because it is so unusual and so appropriately named.  I dont think you can go wrong with any of those choices

[axscientist]

Yes, it's possible. The fish eat the plastic and we eat the fish. So we could be consuming plastic.