Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as a leading emerging contaminant in marine and freshwater environments and a threat to organisms and ecosystems, amplifying concerns about effects on and contamination of seafood, particularly in edible tissues. A growing body of scientific literature has been generated on the abundance and effects of MPs - including growth, reproduction, and fitness effects on diverse marine species . Organismal effects suggest potential ecosystem level consequences ranging from decreased productivity of fisheries important to Oregon coastal communities to potential effects of MPs and their associated contaminants on human health. In light of these findings, MPs have been likened and linked to climate change as a global marine threat, particularly since plastic production is predicted to increase exponentially over the next several decades, yet we lack a comprehensive approach to reduce their entry into riverine, coastal, and marine ecosystems. For this chronic stressor in marine and freshwater environments, data gaps exist in the scientific understanding of microplastics' uptake in important fishery species, as well as potential solutions to address microplastics that consider social, cultural and political dimensions of the issue, and leverage tools from the social and political sciences and end user engagement to develop solutions that are protective of fisheries and responsive to stakeholder needs 

Building upon previous findings, our transdisciplinary SEED project used ecotoxicology and political science methods to 1) improve our understanding of the extent and types of microplastics contamination with the highest relevance to human exposure in Oregon seafood by analyzing consumed tissues of 6 species (pink shrimp, Chinook salmon, Black rockfish, lingcod, herring, and lamprey), 2) identify current state of knowledge, issue prioritization, and tools available to address this growing stressor in both freshwater and marine species and ecosystems, and 3) connect with .environmental engineers working on technological solutions to microplastics delivery to waterways and coastal oceans.