Microplastic measurements including, mass, color, particle type and plastic type collected aboard the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX) cruise, August 2009.

Microplastic was collected using a standard manta net tow. Each sample was sorted at 6-12x magnification under a Wild M-5 dissecting microscope, and plastic particles and H. sericeus removed for further analysis. Plastic particles were soaked in deionized water to remove salts, dried at 60°C, and stored in a desiccator. Particles were then digitally imaged with a Zooscan digital scanner (Gilfillan et al. 2009, Gorsky et al. 2010)