Microplastics found in 75% of fish in New Zealand, report shows

Government's oceans review also presents grim picture of species under threat of extinction including seabirds and mammals

Microplastics are found in three of every four of New Zealand's fish, huge portions of indigenous seabirds and marine species are threatened with extinction, and warmer oceans are becoming uninhabitable to native species, a stark new government report on the state of the country's oceans has found.

The ministry of environment's marine stocktake, released on Thursday, lays out a grim picture of species under threat. It found that 90% of indigenous seabirds, 82% of indigenous shorebirds, 81% of assessed marine invertebrate species and 22% of marine mammal species were classified as threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened with extinction.