Research is being carried out to find out how a microplastic spillage has affected coastal sea bird populations.
On 19 July tonnes of microplastics known as nurdles were spilled into the River Tyne following a collision between ships at the Port of Tyne.
A series of necropsies are now taking place at the Dove Marine Laboratory in Cullercoats on dead birds gathered after the spill.
Dan Turner, coordinator at North East England Beached Bird Surveys said: “We’ve already seen samples from contents of stomachs of suspected regurgitation which contain nurdles.”
Necropsies will be carried out on a variation of seabirds gathered from across the North East including eight guillemots, five herring gulls, a gannet and a pink-footed goose.
