Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2015) 69:279–287

DOI 10.1007/s00244-015-0209-9

Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics in the Sea Surface

Microlayer in Jinhae Bay, South Korea
Young Kyoung Song1,2 • Sang Hee Hong1,2 • Mi Jang1,2 • Gi Myung Han1 •

Won Joon Shim1,2

Received: 16 March 2015 / Accepted: 31 July 2015 / Published online: 9 August 2015
Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Microplastic contamination of the marine envi- (PlasticEurope 2013). However, plastic litter has become
ronment is a worldwide concern. The abundance of marine debris, and accumulations of plastic have been
microplastics was evaluated in the sea surface microlayer in observed on the shore, sea surface, and seabed (Barnes
Jinhae Bay, on the southern coast of Korea. The microplas- et al. 2009).
tics in this study are divided into paint resin particles and Microplastics are generated in the oceans via fragmen-
plastics by polymer type. The mean abundance of paint resin tation of larger plastic goods and litter, or are introduced
particles (94 ± 68 particles/L) was comparable to that of directly into the oceans by the discharge or spill of engi-
plastics (88 ± 68 particles/L). Fragmented microplastics, neered small plastic particles, such as scrubbers in cos-
including paint resin particles, accounted for 75 % of total metics and abrasive beads used for cleaning ships (Browne
particles, followed by spherules (14 %), fibers (5.8 %), et al. 2007). Microplastics in the marine environment are
expanded polystyrene (4.6 %), and sheets (1.6 %). Alkyd ingested by diverse biota, such as invertebrates, turtles,
(35 %) and poly(acrylate/styrene) (16 %) derived from ship fish, birds, and marine mammals (Robards et al. 1995;
paint resin were dominant, and the other microplastic sam- Thompson et al. 2004; Gregory 2009; Murray and Cowie
ples consisted of polypropylene, polyethylene, phenoxy 2011; Davison and Asch 2011; Lindborg et al. 2012). After
resin, polystyrene, polyester, synthetic rubber, and other ingestion, microplastics can act as vectors by transferring
polymers. The abundance of plastics was significantly toxic chemicals added during manufacture or persistent
(p \ 0.05) higher in Jinhae Bay, which is surrounded by a organic toxicants absorbed from surrounding water to the
coastal city, than along the east coast of Geoje, which is ingested organisms and might have adverse physical or
relatively open sea. The floating microplastic abundance in chemical effects on these organisms due to their small size
surface water was the highest reported worldwide. and associated toxicants (Teuten et al. 2007, 2009; Lithner
et al. 2011; Engler 2012; Lee et al. 2014).
Our previous study revealed large accumulations of
Plastics constitute an important component of the materials microplastics (\1 mm) in the sea surface microlayer (SML)
used in modern society and they are used widely (Andrady (Song et al. 2014). Not only were microplastics abundant in
and Neal 2009). In recent years, annual plastic production the SML, but micro-sized synthetic resin particles from ship
has increased drastically, reaching 288 million tons in 2012 paints also were one of major synthetic polymers. This study
investigated the distribution of microplastics in the SML in
Jinhae Bay which has various possible input sources such as
a sewage ocean outfall, harbors and shipyards, and aqua-
& Won Joon Shim culture farms. The microplastics abundance and composi-
[email protected]
tion, including paint resin particles, were compared to
1
Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean previous studies in Korea and other countries to confirm the
Science and Technology, Geoje 656-834, South Korea contamination level. The different polymers in the SML in
2
Department of Marine Environmental Science, University of the study area were identified using Fourier transform
Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-320, South Korea infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).

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280 Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2015) 69:279–287

Materials and Methods screen was used to sample SML water, typically collecting
the SML at depths of 150–400 lm (Cunliffe et al. 2013).
Microplastic Sampling The microplastics and SML water were trapped within the
metal screen mesh spaces by surface tension. A 2-mm
Water samples were collected in Jinhae Bay, located in mesh screen that was 20 cm diameter was placed in contact
southeastern Korea. It has a total area of 640 km2 and with the sea surface 100 times, covering a sampling area of
water depths ranging from 5 to 20 m with its mouth 3.14 m2 at each station. The water trapped within the mesh
opening into the Korean Strait (Kim et al. 2014). Its spaces was collected in the stainless tray, and transferred to
semiclosed nature reduces its flushing efficiency with off- a 1 L polyethylene bottle. The final volume of SML water
shore waters. The bay contains commercial and fishing sampled per station ranged from 2.2 to 2.8 L.
boat harbors, shipyards, shellfish farming, naval bases, and
sewage disposal sites (Yim et al. 2014). Most of the pol- Microplastic Particle Counting and Identification
lutants are in the inner bay, where the currents are weak
(10 cm/s) (Kang 1991). SML water samples were collected The microplastic counting and identification was according
at ten stations in June 2013 (Fig. 1). Station 2 was posi- to Song et al. (2014). The SML water samples and control
tioned at a sewage outfall, and Station 1 was surrounded by samples were filtered through glass fiber filters (GF/F;
the cities of Masan and Changwon and has a commercial 0.75 lm; 47 mm Ø; Whatman, Maidstone, Kent, UK). The
harbor. Stations 3, 6, and 7 were located near shipyards and filters were dried at 60 °C and kept in Petri dishes.
harbors, whereas Stations 8–10 were located near large Microplastic particles on the filter paper were simultane-
scale aquaculture farms. ously counted and identified using FT-IR (Thermo Nicolet
The method of sampling microplastics from the sea 6700 and Continlum; Thermo Scientific, Waltham, MA).
SML followed the protocol by Song et al. (2014). A metal Microplastic particles were counted in five randomly
selected squares (8 9 7.8 mm; total area = 3.14 cm2) on
the filter paper, which comprised 25 % of the total filtered
area. Whole plastic-like particles in each square were
selected under a microscope (409 or 1009) and identified
immediately using FT-IR in attenuated total reflectance
(ATR) mode. The spectra were recorded as the average of
128 scans in the spectral range 650–4000 cm-1 at a reso-
lution of 8 cm-1. The microplastics were categorized
according to their maximum size (\50, 50–100, 100–200,
200–500, 500–1000, and [1000 lm) and by type and
shape of plastic [paint resin particles and non-paint plastics
or fragments, fibers, spherules, sheets, and expanded
polystyrene (EPS)]. The microplastic particles were not
weighed, because the particles were too small to be
removed from the filter papers. Weighing the plastics with
the filter paper was difficult because of the many other
nonplastic particles on the paper.
Two liters of distilled water (n = 3), which were stored
in the same type of polyethylene sampling bottles as used
for the SML water, were filtered using a glass fiber filter as
a blank sample. Particles on the dried filter paper were
counted and identified using an FT-IR microscope in the
same way as the microplastic particles were counted. None
of the non-paint plastics and paint resin particles was
detected in the blank samples.

Statistical Analysis

All of the statistical tests were performed using SigmaPlot

Fig. 1 Locations where microplastics were sampled in the surface
microlayer in Jinhae Bay (white square Aquaculture farm using ver. 11. The Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-
expanded polystyrene floats, black star Shipyard) rank test were used to test for differences between the

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Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2015) 69:279–287 281

abundance of paint particles and non-paint plastics for the 300

Paint particles
different sampling locations. Plastics
250

Abundance (particels/L)
Results 200

Abundance and Composition of Microplastics 150

in the SML
100
The abundance of microplastics in the samples taken in this
study was divided into paint resin (hereafter paint) particles 50
and plastics by polymer type following Song et al. (2014).
The mean abundance of paint particles was 94 ± 68 par- 0
St.1 St.2 St.3 St.4 St.5 St.6 St.7 St.8 St.9 St.10
ticles/L, and the mean abundance of plastics was 88 ± 68
Station
particles/L (Table 1). Paint particles accounted for 52 % of
the total number of particles in the study area (Table 1). Fig. 2 Abundance of micro-sized paint resin particles and non-paint
When paint particles were included in fragment type due to microplastics in the surface microlayer in Jinhae Bay
their irregular shape, fragments accounted for 75 % of all
particles, followed by spherules (14 %), fibers (5.8 %),
EPS (4.6 %), and sheets (1.6 %). The abundance of paint particles ranged from 63 to 101 particles/L. The ratio of
particles and non-paint plastic fragments peaked in the non-paint plastics to paint particles was exceptionally high
50–100 lm size class. The lengths of the fibers ranged from at Stations 1 and 2 (10–12), located in Masan Bay, com-
100 to 2000 lm and the diameters ranged from 10 to 35 or pared to the other stations (0.2–2.0).
10 to 70 lm. Spherules had a peak abundance at \50 lm, Alkyd (35 %) derived from ship paint resin from the
and no spherules[100 lm were detected in this study. The deck and poly(acrylate/styrene) (16 %) from fiber-rein-
sheets measured 50–500 lm and the EPS \ 500 lm, with forced plastic (FRP) resin dominated the polymer types in
a peak abundance at 100–200 lm. this study (Table 2). Excluding alkyd and poly(acrylate/
Microplastics, including both the paint particles and styrene) of ship origin, polypropylene, and polyethylene
plastics, were distributed widely throughout this study area accounted for 34 % of the non-paint plastics, followed by
in the SML samples (Fig. 2). The highest abundance of phenoxy resin (11 %), polystyrene (11 %), polyester
non-paint plastic particles was recorded at Station 2 (247 (10 %), and synthetic rubber (0.7 %). There also were
particles/L) near the sewage ocean outfall, followed by many other polymers and copolymers (34 %), including
Stations 7 (147 particles/L) and 1 (120 particles/L). At the polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, polyethylene terephthalate, and
other stations, non-paint plastic particles ranged from 33 to various copolymers. All of the polymer types except
83 particles/L. Paint particles had the highest abundance at polyester were identified in fragment-shaped microplastics.
Station 7 (231 particles/L), followed by Stations 3 (181 The fibers comprised polyester and polypropylene
particles/L) and 5 (118 particles/L), whereas Stations 1 and copolymers. Green, blue, or red spherules included various
2 had relatively low abundances of paint particles in the polymer types, such as acrylic, polyurethane, and polyester
range of 12–20 particles/L. At the other stations, paint copolymers. All of the sheets were polyethylene.

Table 1 Mean abundance

Size (lm) Paint Fragments Fibers Spherules Sheets EPS Total %
(±standard error) of
Abundance (particles/L)
microplastics by type and size in
the sea surface microlayer in \50 30 ± 23 4.6 ± 6.5 24 ± 47 0.4 ± 1.3 59 ± 49 33
Jinhae Bay
50–100 38 ± 30 16 ± 19 0.7 ± 2.2 0.6 ± 1.9 1.9 ± 4.3 57 ± 18 31
100–200 12 ± 14 10 ± 12 2.1 ± 3.8 1.7 ± 2.8 5.5 ± 9.5 31 ± 19 17
200–500 11 ± 10 10 ± 9.3 1.8 ± 3.3 0.6 ± 1.9 0.5 ± 1.6 24 ± 7.3 13
500–1000 3.1 ± 3.4 0.5 ± 1.6 4.2 ± 4.4 7.8 ± 4.8 4.3
[1000 0.7 ± 2.2 2.5 ± 4.1 3.2 ± 5.3 1.8
Total 94 ± 68 41 ± 23 11 ± 8.2 25 ± 47 2.9 ± 5.8 8.3 ± 14 182 ± 68 100
% percent 52 23 5.8 14 1.6 4.6 100
EPS Expanded polystyrene

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Table 2 Mean composition of

Polymer type Abundance (particles/L) Composition (%)
microplastics by polymer type
in the sea surface microlayer in Total w/o paint particlesa
Jinhae Bay identified by Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy Alkyd 64 ± 48 35 –
(FT-IR) Poly(acrylate/styrene) 29 ± 32 16 –
Polypropylene 15 ± 15 8.2 17
Polyethylene 15 ± 13 8.2 17
Phenoxy resin 10 ± 22 5.6 11
Polystyrene 9.4 ± 13 5.2 11
Polyester 8.6 ± 8.9 4.7 10
Synthetic rubber 0.6 ± 2.0 0.3 0.7
Others 30 ± 43 16 34
a
% composition excluding alkyd and poly(acrylate/styrene)

Comparison of the Microplastic Abundance SML in this study were converted from particles per liter to
particles per square meter and particles per cubic meter,
The abundance of non-paint microplastics from Jinhae Bay and only microplastic larger than 200 lm was compared
(88 ± 68 particles/L) was significantly (p \ 0.05) higher for the SML data to enable direct comparison with other
than off the east coast Geoje (16 ± 14 particles/L) (Song studies. The mean abundance of microplastics in Jinhae
et al. 2014), whereas paint particles were significantly Bay (0.234 particles/m2) with Manta net (Kang et al. 2015)
(p \ 0.05) less abundant in Jinhae Bay (94 ± 68 particles/ was comparable with those in Mediterranean (0.107, 0.234,
L) than off the east coast of Geoje (195 ± 114 particles/L) and 0.130 particles/m2) and the North Pacific central gyre
(Song et al. 2014) (Table 3). Given the offset between (0.334 particles/m2), and was an order of magnitude higher
paint particles and non-paint plastics, the total abundance than those reported in the South Pacific gyre (0.027 parti-
of microplastics was not significantly (p [ 0.05) different cles/m2) and Bay of Calvi at Mediterranean Sea (0.062
between the two study areas. Paint particles \100 lm in particles/m2). On the other hand, the abundance of
size were predominant in both Jinhae Bay and off the coast microplastics in the SML of Jinhae Bay (12.6 particles/m2)
of Geoje. Quantitative analyses of the microplastics in the was one or two orders of magnitude higher than the
SML have only been undertaken in Korea (Song et al. 2014 abundances reported worldwide by neuston net sampling.
and this study) and Singapore (Ng and Obbard 2006). The The abundance of non-paint microplastic on a volume basis
abundance of microplastic particles in the SML waters of (12,600 particles/m3) was several orders of magnitude
Korea, both off the Geoje coast and in Jinhae Bay, was higher than those reported in the world, while Manta net
significantly (p \ 0.05) higher than in Singapore (Fig. 3). data in Jinhae Bay was comparable to those from North
The abundance of non-paint microplastic particles from Pacific (3.286 particles/m3) and coasts of southern Cali-
surface water in this study was compared among different fornia (3.92–7.25 particles/m3).
places worldwide (Table 4). The abundance units for the

Table 3 Comparison of the mean abundance of microplastics (paint Discussion

particles and plastics) between Jinhae Bay (this study) and the east
coast of Geoje (Song et al. 2014) by size
Abundance and Distribution of Microplastics
Size (lm) Jinhae Bay (this study) Geoje coast (Song et al.)
Paint Plastics Paint Plastics Jinhae Bay suffers from severe environmental problems,
Abundance (particles/L) because it is subject to a high pollution burden with limited
\50 30 ± 23 29 ± 49 95 ± 57 8.0 ± 12
water circulation (Yim et al. 2014). Jinhae Bay receives the
50–100 38 ± 30 19 ± 18 67 ± 40 1.2 ± 3.3
discharge (mean flow 187.1 m3/s) from the Nakdong River
(length 521 km, with 13.2 million people in the river
100–200 12 ± 14 19 ± 19 22 ± 20 1.2 ± 2.6
catchment). In addition, many small fishing vessels are
200–500 11 ± 10 13 ± 7.3 10 ± 11 1.5 ± 2.9
floating in Jinhae Bay in the spring. Stations 1 and 2 were
500–1000 3.1 ± 3.0 4.7 ± 4.8 2.7 ± 3.5
surrounded by coastal cities (1.1 million population) and
[1000 3.2 ± 5.3 0.5 ± 1.5 1.6 ± 2.6
industrial complexes and much pollution flowed into the
Total 94 ± 68 88 ± 68 195 ± 114 16 ± 14
bay via rivers directly or indirectly (Hong et al. 2003; Li

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Fig. 3 Comparison of the 300 500

abundances of micro-sized paint Plastics Paint Total
resin particles and non-paint particles
microplastics in the surface 250
400
microlayer at different locations

Abundance (particles/L)
200
300

150

200
100

100
50

0 0
re t y t y t y
po as Ba as Ba as Ba
ga co ae co ae co ae
in je h je h je h
S Ge
o Ji n eo Jin Geo Jin
G
Location

Table 4 Comparison of the floating microplastic abundance in surface water

Location Concentration mean (Min– Plastic size (mm) Net mesh size (mm) Reference
Max)

Particles/m2
North Pacific central gyre 0.334 (0.032–0.970) [0.35 0.333 Moore et al. (2001)
North Pacific 0.042 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
South Pacific gyre 0.027 [0.355 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2013)
South Pacific 0.010 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
North Atlantic 0.030 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
South Atlantic 0.029 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
Indian Ocean 0.006 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
Mediterranean sea 0.107 (0.116–0.892) 0.3–5 0.333 Collignon et al. (2012)
Bay of Calvi (Mediterranean) 0.062 (0–0.69) [0.2 0.200 Collignon et al. (2014)
Mediterranean Sea 0.069 0.33–1 0.333 Eriksen et al. (2014)
Mediterranean Sea 0.244 \1000 0.200 Cózar et al. (2015)
Mediterranean Sea 0.130 0.33–5 0.330 Faure et al. (2015)
Jinhae Baya 0.234 (0.057–0.660) [0.33 0.330 Kang et al. (2015)
Jinhae Baya 12.6 (6–23) 0.2–1 Surface microlayer This study
Particles/m3
North Pacific 3.286 (0.430–7.25) [0.35 0.333 Moore et al. (2005)
Atlantic (Southern New England, USA) 0.275 (0–14.1) 0.1–2 0.333 Carpenter et al. (1972)
Gullmar Fjord, Sweden 0.063 (0.010–0.140) [0.45 0.450 Norén (2007)
Southeast Bering Sea 0.045 [0.505 0.505 Doyle et al. (2011)
Off southern California 0.074 [0.505 0.505 Doyle et al. (2011)
Coast of southern California 7.25 [0.35 0.333 Moore et al. (2002)
Santa Monica Bay, USA 3.92 [0.35 0.333 Lattin et al. (2004)
Jinhae Baya 1.36 (0.570–3.085) [0.33 0.330 Kang et al. (2015)
Jinhae Baya 12,600 (6000–23,000) 0.2–1 Surface microlayer This study
a
Non-paint plastics only

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et al. 2008). There was relatively high abundance of high EPS abundance on sand beaches in Heungnam of
microplastics other than paint resin particles at Stations 1 Geoje was known to be originated from EPS floats used for
and 2. In addition, very small spherule type microplastics aquaculture (Heo et al. 2013). Furthermore, hexabromo-
were dominant at these stations, indicating that these two cyclododecane (HBCD) used as a flame retardant in EPS
stations were influenced by different microplastic input floats were leached out and contaminated bottom sediment
sources compared to the other stations (Fig. 4a). surrounding the aquaculture farms (Al-Odaini et al. 2015).
Station 7 not only had the highest abundance of paint An additional survey examined SML water (n = 3)
particles, but also the second largest abundance of plastics inside the sluice of the Nakdong River mouth on October
after Station 2. This station was located near Geoje (pop- 10, 2013—2 days after Typhoon Danas passed over Nak-
ulation 247,044), where there are a large shipyard and dong River basin, bringing heavy rain. The total
several midscale shipyards. This area is affected by ship- microplastic abundances in three river water samples near
yard-based pollution, such as tributyltin and polycyclic the sluice were 44, 90, and 423 particles/L (mean ± SE;
aromatic hydrocarbons (Park et al. 2009; Kim et al. 2011). 187 ± 207 particles/L), which were comparable to those in
At Stations 8 and 9, EPS particles accounted for a rela- the SML in Jinhae Bay. After excluding paint particles, the
tively high percentage of all non-paint microplastics (25 mean abundance (171 ± 206 particles/L) in the river water
and 50 %, respectively; Fig. 4a). The EPS microplastics was about twice as high as in Jinhae Bay (88 ± 68 parti-
might have originated from the EPS floats used in the huge cles/L), whereas the microplastic abundance was signifi-
nearby oyster hanging-culture farms. The exceptionally cantly (p \ 0.05) higher in Jinhae Bay than off the east

Fig. 4 Composition of
microplastic abundance by
(a)
100
a shape and b polymer type at Paint particles
each station in Jinhae Bay Fragment
Fiber
80
Spherule
Sheet
EPS
60
% Percent

40

20

0
St.1 St.2 St.3 St.4 St.5 St.6 St.7 St.8 St.9 St.10
Station
100
(b)
Alkyd
Poly(acrylate/styrene)
Polypropylene
80 Polyethylene
Polystyrene
Phenoxy resin
Polyester
60
% percent

Synthetic rubber
Otehrs

40

20

0
St.1 St.2 St.3 St.4 St.5 St.6 St.7 St.8 St.9 St.10
Station

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coast of Geoje, which is relatively open sea. In contrast, the underlying water with its low microplastic abundance
abundance of paint particles off the eastern coast of Geoje taken with neuston nets (e.g. Manta net). The other was the
was significantly (p \ 0.05) higher than that in Jinhae Bay. size of the microplastics sampled by SML and identified by
The relatively high abundance near shipyards within Jinhae FT-IR. Microplastics \330 lm accounted for a large pro-
Bay implies that shipbuilding and repairing activity intro- portion of the particles in the SML water samples. As
duces paint resin particles into the surrounding water. microplastics smaller than the mesh of neuston nets were
However, the relatively high abundance of paint particles missed during sampling in those studies, only the abun-
in the waters offshore of Geoje, where capture fisheries are dance of microplastic [200 lm in SML from this study
active, compared with the enclosed Jinhae Bay implies that was compared to the other studies (Table 4). Even though
paint particles also are input during offshore fishing the abundances were compared at similar microplastic size
activity. Further studies are required to evaluate the range ([200 lm) on an area basis, the only non-paint
abundance and major input pathways of paint particles and microplastic abundance in the SML was still orders of
plastics. magnitude higher than for the Manta trawl net data for
Jinhae Bay and other regions. This implies that Jinhae Bay
Composition of Microplastics in the SML is not only relatively contaminated with microplastics, but
also that the microplastics are concentrated in the SML. In
This study identified alkyds from paint resin of various our previous study, it was revealed that only microscopic
colors as polyester (a phthalic alkyd modified by soybean identification of microplastics (\1 mm in size) 1.5 times
oil) and white or sky blue poly(acrylate/styrene) used in underestimated microplastic abundance compared with FT-
marine paint or the FRP matrix (Shtykova et al. 2006). The IR identification method of whole microplastic particles
greatest abundance of phenoxy resin was detected at Sta- (Song et al. 2015). Because all the microplastic particles in
tion 2 located near the ocean outfall of a sewage treatment SML samples in this study was identified by FT-IR, it may
plant (Fig. 4b). Phenoxy resin is an efficient flexibilizer for influence in high abundance of SML compared with the
cross-linked phenolic and epoxy formulations in adhesives, other study with only visual identification.
coatings, and composites, and it also is used in compati- The SML sampling method does not include sub-surface
bilizing blends of diverse plastic materials. All of the waters in which microplastic abundance is relatively low
polyesters were fiber-shaped and typically 10–35 lm in (Song et al. 2014). This difference in sampling method
diameter, and were likely derived from cloth (Browne et al. prevents direct comparison of microplastic abundance
2011). The irregular white fibers consisting of impact between in SML and in surface water on a volume basis.
polypropylene copolymer were likely derived from rope However, the microplastic abundance found at SML could
debris, such as aquaculture buoys, fishing nets, and ship be a real encounter or exposure level of floating
ropes originating from ocean activity around Korea (Jang microplastics to neustonic organisms on sea surface.
et al. 2014). Because the small spherules consisted of Therefore, tens of thousands of microplastics in the volume
various polymer types (acrylic, polyurethane, and polyester basis (6000–23,000 particles/m3) in SML in this study may
copolymers), it is difficult to determine their sources. The reflect actual exposure concentrations to neustonic organ-
high abundance of phenoxy resin and spherule type isms, which are orders of magnitude higher than those from
microplastics at Stations 1 and 2 imply that they mainly neuston net methods.
originated from a land-based source. The polymer types of
microplastics will be helpful for estimating or confirming Acknowledgments This study was partially supported by research
projects titled ‘‘Environmental Risk Assessment of Microplastics in
the sources of microplastics detected in the marine envi- the Marine Environment’’ from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries,
ronment based on their size, color, and shape. Korea. The authors thank J. H. Kang for providing Manta net raw data
in Jinhae Bay for data comparison.
High Abundance of Microplastics in SML
Compliance with Ethical Standards

The abundance of floating microplastic in surface water Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict
was compared to other studies in different regions of interest.
(Table 4). Previously, Song et al. (2014) discussed why
SML showed relatively higher abundances than other
sampling methods. To increase the comparability of
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