Characterization of microplastics in the surface waters of Kingston Harbour Deanna Rose a,1 , Mona Webber b, ⁎ ,1 a International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, 2 Anguilla Close, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica b Centre for Marine Sciences, 1 Anguilla Close, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica HIGHLIGHTS • Microplastic pollution is evident in sur- face waters of Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. • Microplastics concentration ranged from 0 to 5.73 particles/m 3 (0–2,697,674.13 particles/km 2 ). • Fragments were the most abundant morphology sampled from Kingston Harbour. • The average microplastic:zooplankton ratio was 0.18%. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 9 November 2018 Received in revised form 17 January 2019 Accepted 24 January 2019 Available online 05 February 2019 Editor: Jay Gan Microplastic contamination of the marine environment has garnered global attention in recent years, and its dis- tribution and effects in many small island developing states (SIDS) are still undetermined.As such, this study serves to detail an investigation of the abundance, spatial distribution and characteristics of surface water microplastics in the Kingston Harbour, a heavily polluted embayment in Jamaica. Fortnightly sampling with a manta trawl (335 μm mesh) revealed non-variable concentrations of 0–5.73 particles/m 3 (0–2,697,674.13 parti- cles/km 2 ) across stations adjacent to mangrove forests, key nursery grounds for many commercially important finfish and shellfish. Microplastics found in samples were predominantly fragments and were between 1 mm and 2.5 mm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy identified polyethylene and polypropylene in frag- ments selected for analysis. These data serve to establish a crucial baseline of the status of microplastic pollution in Kingston Harbour. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Small island developing states Kingston Harbour Microplastic Zooplankton Jamaica Caribbean Marine debris 1. Introduction Since the start of production in the 1950's, an estimated 8.3 billion metric tons (8300 × 10 6 MT) of plastic have been produced, up to Science of the Total Environment 664 (2019) 753–760 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: mona.webber@uwimona.edu.jm (M. Webber). 1 Both authors contributed equally. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.319 0048-9697/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv