Clinical Feed

Perceptions of plastic pollution among inland fishery stakeholders in a subtropical reservoir

by Florence M. Murungweni, Manamela S. Mokata, Lubabalo Mofu, Jeffrey Lebepe, Samuel N. Motitsoe, Thendo Mutshekwa Plastic pollution is becoming a serious problem in freshwater ec

GIST

by Florence M. Murungweni, Manamela S. Mokata, Lubabalo Mofu, Jeffrey Lebepe, Samuel N. Motitsoe, Thendo Mutshekwa Plastic pollution is becoming a serious problem in freshwater ecosystems, impacting the livelihoods of people who rely on inland fisheries. Although plastic waste is widely discussed around the world, limited research has explored how local fishery stakeholders perceive pollution, particularly in Southern Africa. As such, using semi-structured interviews, the current study assessed the awareness, concerns, and solution perspectives of three different stakeholder groups, i.e., commercial fishers (CF), recreational fishers (RF), and fishmongers (FM) around Nandoni Dam, a subtropical reservoir in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Thirty participants, i.e., 10 per stakeholder, were interviewed, and our results showed that 96.7% of all stakeholders were aware of plastic pollution, yet 86.7% had limited understanding of microplastics. Perceptions of the impacts of plastic pollution varied across groups, with visitors (CF = 60%; RF = 60%; FM = 66.7%) and local residents (CF = 20%; RF = 20%; FM = 11.1%) being linked as a source of plastic pollution around Nandoni Dam.

Clinical Editorial

PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 09 Jul 2026. The item focuses on Perceptions of plastic pollution among inland fishery stakeholders in a subtropical reservoir. Review the original article for the full source wording and details.

Original source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0353457