Microplastic quantity and bisphenol-a accumulation in grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) caught from of Iskenderun and Mersin bays

Plastic waste reaching marine ecosystems negatively impacts the organisms living in these environments and indirectly affects the entire ecosystem. One of the main negative effects is the breakdown of waste plastics into microplastics and the dissolution of additives found in plastic compositions in nature. One of the additives contained in plastic waste is Bisphenol-A (BPA), which is known to be an endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen. This study attempted to determine the presence of microplastics and Bisphenol-A (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor and carcinogen, in the individuals of flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) sampled in the vicinity of the regions where the Asi, Deliçay, Ceyhan, and Seyhan rivers, which are exposed to a significant amount of plastic waste, flow into the Iskenderun and Mersin bays. Samples were collected in the summer (August) and winter (February). Microplastics were determined in 88% of the sampled mullet and seabass, with a total of 1340 microplastic particles detected. The dominant type of microplastic was fibers (87%), with black being the dominant color (35%). The lowest amount of microplastics were detected in fish sampled from station II (Dörtyol) with a total of 116 particles, while the highest amount was detected in fish sampled from station I (Samandağ) with a total of 576 particles. The amount of microplastics detected by species was 1057 particles (78%) in mullet and 283 particles (21%) in seabass. The accumulation levels of BPA in the sampled fish were as follows: in the muscle tissue of mullet, it ranged from 0.057±0.045 ng/g to 1.076±0.151 ng/g, in the liver tissue, it ranged from 0.056±0.440 ng/g to 1.008±0.556 ng/g. In European seabass, BFA levels in the muscle tissue ranged from 0.154±0.048 ng/g to 0.961±0.469 ng/g, and in the liver tissue, it ranged from 0.056±0.440 ng/g to 0.787±0.431 ng/g. The lowest BFA accumulation was observed in fish sampled from station I (Samandağ), while the highest was observed in fish sampled from station IV (Mersin) for both fish species.