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5-Year Impact Factor: 1.4
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Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2023, Vol 23, Num, 12     (Pages: TRJFAS24773)

Microplastic Pollution in Turkish Aquatic Ecosystems: Sources, Characteristics, Implications, and Mitigation Strategies

İlhan Aydın 1 ,Yahya Terzi 2 ,Sedat Gündoğdu 3 ,Ülgen Aytan 4 ,Rafet Çağrı Öztürk 2 ,Muhammed Atamanalp 5 ,Gonca Alak 6 ,Nüket Sivri 7 ,Ceyhun Akarsu 7 ,Ataman Altuğ Atıcı 8 ,Olgaç Güven 9 ,Levent Bat 10 ,Ece Kılıç 11 ,Ayşah Öztekin 10 ,Arzu Uçar 5 ,Vildan Zülal Sönmez 12 ,Serap Paslı 4 ,Ahmet E. Kıdeyş 13

1 General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ankara, Türkiye
2 Department of Fisheries Technology Engineering, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Türkiye
3 Department of Basic Sciences, Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, 01330 Adana, Türkiye
4 Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Türkiye
5 Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Ataturk University, TR-25030 Erzurum, Türkiye
6 Department of Seafood Processing Technology, Faculty of Fisheries, Ataturk University, TR-25030 Erzurum, Türkiye
7 Department of Environmental Engineering, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, 34320, Avcılar, Istanbul, Türkiye
8 Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, 65080 Van, Türkiye
9 Department of Fisheries Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries, Akdeniz University, 07058, Antalya, Türkiye
10 Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, University of Sinop, 57000 Sinop, Türkiye
11 Department of Water Resources Management and Organization, Faculty of Marine Sci. and Techn., Iskenderun Technical University, Hatay, Türkiye
12 Department of Environmental Engineering, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye
13 Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Erdemli, 33731, Mersin, Türkiye
DOI : 10.4194/TRJFAS24773 Viewed : 1410 - Downloaded : 926 Aquatic environments are one of the final destinations for microplastics. In this review, a combination of systematic and narrative literature review was conducted to identify and summarise advances, gaps, and future directions in microplastic monitoring studies in the Turkish aquatic environment and in inhabiting aquatic organisms. A total of 62 peer-reviewed publications available on Web of Science were considered in the systematic review. Additionally, the current state of microplastic pollution in Turkish aquatic environments which includes marine and freshwater ecosystems, as well as aquatic organisms, and sources and characteristics of microplastics were reviewed narratively. Türkiye`s position on the global plastic treaty and mitigation practices were also addressed. Although an increase in the number of publications over time was observed, the number and extent of studies carried out in freshwater ecosystems are limited. Strict legislation should be enacted and enforced to tackle plastic pollution in Türkiye. Additionally, nationwide, long-term monitoring studies at sufficiently regular intervals in aquatic environments should be considered. Keywords : Microplastic Pollution Aquatic environment Aquatic organisms Türkiye