Two recent Southern Ocean studies found microplastics in Antarctic krill and salps, with fibers — mostly from clothing and textiles — making up more than three-quarters of detected particles. Krill sampled at 26 sites near the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands contained microplastics at every location. Researchers warn these findings show microplastics can travel long distances into remote polar waters and now plan to study toxicity and how plastics move up the Antarctic food web.
Microplastics Reach 'Isolated' Antarctica: Krill and Salps Found Ingesting Textile Fibers
Two recent Southern Ocean studies found microplastics in Antarctic krill and salps, with fibers — mostly from clothing and textiles — making up more than three-quarters of detected particles. Krill sampled at 26 sites near the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands contained microplastics at every location. Researchers warn these findings show microplastics can travel long distances into remote polar waters and now plan to study toxicity and how plastics move up the Antarctic food web.
11:25 PM, 11/12/2025Environment
Microplastics found in Antarctic krill and salps — even in remote waters
Two independent studies sampling the Southern Ocean near Antarctica have concluded that tiny marine animals are ingesting microplastics, particularly textile-derived fibers. Researchers collected Antarctic krill from 26 sites around the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands and found microplastics in animals from every location sampled.
The findings, published in Science of the Total Environment and Royal Society Open Science, show a wide variety of particle types, sizes and colors present in krill. A complementary study that analyzed salps — gelatinous, jellyfish-like filter feeders — found microplastics there as well, although salps tended to contain fewer but larger particles than krill.
Fibers dominate the pollution: both teams reported that fibers accounted for more than three-quarters of all microplastic particles detected. These fibers most often originate from clothing, curtains, carpets and other textiles; a single laundry load can release over a million microplastic fibers into wastewater that can eventually reach the ocean.
"Even the polar environment is not free of microplastic pollution," wrote Hangbiao Jin, associate professor at Zhejiang University of Technology and co-author of one of the studies.
Although small, Antarctic krill are a foundational species in the Southern Ocean food web. They are a primary food source for whales, seals, penguins and many fish, and they play an important role in carbon sequestration by moving organic carbon into deeper waters. Scientists estimate krill biomass to exceed hundreds of millions of tons, underscoring the potential scale of microplastic transfer through polar food webs.
Researchers point out that Antarctica has long been considered relatively protected due to strong circumpolar currents, but the presence of microplastics suggests long-range transport via ocean currents and atmospheric pathways. "It’s most likely that there are some long-range sources as well," said Emily Rowlands of the British Antarctic Survey, co-author on one of the papers.
Next steps and practical actions
- Researchers plan to study the toxicity of microplastics in Antarctic species and map how plastics move up the food web from krill and salps to fish, penguins and seals.
- Individuals can help reduce microplastic pollution by cutting single-use plastics, using laundry filters or bags that capture fibers, choosing natural-fiber textiles when possible, and supporting cleanup and policy efforts to reduce plastic emissions.
The studies serve as a reminder that human activities affect even the planet's most remote regions and that small, everyday choices can contribute to cleaner oceans.