Horrifying moment fisherman cuts open his catch and finds its stomach FULL of plastic waste 

Horrifying moment fisherman cuts open his catch and finds its stomach FULL of plastic waste

  • The footage was recorded by an onlooker in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife 
  • Fisherman holds the sea bass carcass upside-down before making an incision 
  • He has since criticised the state of the beach and the cleanliness of the water

A fisherman was shocked to cut open his catch of the day to find it had a stomach full of plastic waste.

The footage was recorded in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife – the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.

In the video, the 34-year-old fisherman, who wished to remain anonymous, is holding the carcass of a sea bass upside-down. 

He reaches inside, having made an incision, and pulls outs its stomach which is fit to burst.

The fisherman then squeezes the contents out to reveal a hoard of rubbish including shards of plastic, bits of string and even parts of a cigarette packet.

He sifts through the findings before scooping them back up out of the water which is where the video ends. 

In the video, the 34-year-old fisherman, who wished to remain anonymous, is holding the carcass of the sea bass upside-down in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife

He reaches inside, having made an incision, and pulls outs its stomach which is fit to burst

He reaches inside, having made an incision, and pulls outs its stomach which is fit to burst

Speaking about the moment he made the discovery, he said: ‘I was fishing and I noticed my catch appeared to be full of plastic, I was pushing its stomach and instead of caving in, it was moving laterally.

‘A friend who was in the area offered me a knife to cut it open and it was full of plastic, there was no food there at all.

‘I have seen small pieces of plastic inside fish before but always with food in the stomach too.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this, it was brutal, I did not expect that in the fish.’

The fisherman then squeezes the contents out to reveal a hoard of rubbish including shards of plastic, bits of string and even parts of a cigarette packet

The fisherman then squeezes the contents out to reveal a hoard of rubbish including shards of plastic, bits of string and even parts of a cigarette packet

The fisherman went on to criticise the state of the beach where he made the discovery and added: ‘That beach is very dirty, especially in one part, as the current where the waves are surfed do not let the rubbish go to the other part of the beach’, he added regarding the situation of that beach.

‘There are bottles, condoms, food, mobile phones everywhere as the area is full of tourists.’

There had been claims that the fisherman and his friends had staged the findings.

But the fisherman added:  ‘Of course ignorant people will attack us but the real concern is that we are eating micro-plastics and causing illnesses in our children and grandchildren.

‘It is such a shame. What we throw in the sea, we end up eating.’

He sifts through the findings before scooping them back up out of the water which is where the video ends

He sifts through the findings before scooping them back up out of the water which is where the video ends

The unnamed fisherman has since criticised the state of the beach and the cleanliness of the water

The unnamed fisherman has since criticised the state of the beach and the cleanliness of the water

Social media users were quick to comment on the footage after it was uploaded online.

One user, SilviaAlbg, wrote: ‘If we are what we eat, I do not think we will have too much time left destroying the planet while also killing ourselves.’

Another, Rethsee, said: ‘Things have got out of control. 

‘Thank God there are some people raising awareness but the planet is almost lost for good…’

And a third, Esteelacarrasco, wrote: ‘I hope the guy picked up all that plastic he threw in the water afterwards.’

Playa de las Americas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the municipality of Arona in South Tenerife that is widely used by surfers. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk