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[Display omitted] • MAO-B was successfully immobilized onto cellulose filter paper for the first time. • A new method for ligand fishing based on CFP-DA-MAO-B was developed. • Natural MAO-B inhibitors, including one never reported before, were isolated and identified from Tibetan strawberry. • Neuroprotective effects of the inhibitors were demonstrated. • Potential of Tibetan strawberry as neuroprotective functional food was suggested. Tibetan strawberry (Fragaria nubicola) is a wild medicinal and edible plant in Tibet possessing various health benefits such as neuroprotection and anti-oxidation. However, there has been little study reported on its chemical constituents. To investigate the inhibitors of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in Tibetan strawberry, we immobilized the enzyme onto cellulose filter paper for the first time to develop a new screening method. Two known glycosides (compounds 1 and 2) and one new iridoid glucoside (Compound 3) were fished out by this method, which was found to effectively inhibit MAO-B with IC 50 values of 16.95 ± 0.93, 24.69 ± 0.20, and 46.77 ± 0.78 μM, respectively. Molecular docking and kinetic analysis were performed to reveal the inhibition mechanism of these compounds. Furthermore, compound 1 exhibited neuroprotective effects against 6-OHDA-induced injury on PC12 cells. The developed method exhibits the advantages of rapidness and effectiveness in screening of MAO-B inhibitors from complex herbal extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purse-seine tropical tuna fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (EPO) results in the bycatch of several sensitive species groups, including elasmobranchs. Effective ecosystem management balances conservation and resource use and requires considering trade-offs and synergies. Seasonal and adaptive spatial measures can reduce fisheries impacts on nontarget species while maintaining or increasing target catches. Identifying persistently high-risk areas in the open ocean, where dynamic environmental conditions drive changes in species' distributions, is essential for exploring the impact of fisheries closures. We used fisheries observer data collected from 1995 to 2021 to explore the spatiotemporal persistence of areas of high bycatch risk for 2 species of oceanic sharks, silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) and oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), and of low tuna catch rates. We analyzed data collected by fisheries scientific observers onboard approximately 200 large purse-seine vessels operating in the EPO under 10 different flags. Fishing effort, catch, and bycatch data were aggregated spatially and temporally at 1° × 1° cells and monthly, respectively. When areas of high fishing inefficiency were closed the entire study period and effort was reallocated proportionally to reflect historical effort patterns, yearly tuna catch appeared to increase by 1-11%, whereas bycatch of silky and oceanic whitetip sharks decreased by 10-19% and 9%, respectively. Prior to fishing effort redistribution, bycatch reductions accrued to 21-41% and 14% for silky and oceanic whitetip sharks, respectively. Our results are consistent with previous findings and demonstrate the high potential for reducing elasmobranch bycatch in the EPO without compromising catch rates of target tuna species. They also highlight the need to consider new dynamic and adaptive management measures to more efficiently fulfill conservation and sustainability objectives for exploited resources in the EPO., (© 2024 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

The concept of "state fishes of India" highlights the importance and significance of the prioritized fish species distributed across various states within the country. This review article systematically documents the current status of state fishes from various perspectives, identifies the prevailing knowledge gaps, and also highlights the issues and strategic plans essential for the conservation and sustainable utilization of these valuable genetic resources. A total of 8357 publications were checked for the consolidated information on state fish species, and the appropriate items were selected under eight categories: biology, physiology and nutrition, aquaculture, habitat and environmental parameters, genetics and biotechnology, harvest and postharvest, fish health management, and others. The synthesized information was used to present the current status of research and development on state fish species. The knowledge gaps that are to be addressed are also depicted under the perspectives of fisheries management and conservation aquaculture. Based on the findings, strategic plans for the targeted conservation programmes are proposed and discussed under various in situ and ex situ conservation measures. Further, the departmental processes involved in the declaration, the importance of stakeholder involvement, namely, local communities and policymakers, in fostering effective conservation measures, and planning for utilization of these valuable fish genetic resources are also indicated., (© 2024 Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

Threatened shark species are caught in large numbers by artisanal and commercial fisheries and traded globally. Monitoring both which shark species are caught and sold in fisheries, and the export of CITES-restricted products, are essential in reducing illegal fishing. Current methods for species identification rely on visual examination by experts or DNA barcoding techniques requiring specialist laboratory facilities and trained personnel. The need for specialist equipment and/or input from experts means many markets are currently not monitored. We have developed a paper-based Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) to facilitate identification of three threatened and CITES-listed sharks, bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus), pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus) and shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) at market source. DNA was successfully extracted from shark meat and fin samples and combined with DNA amplification and visualisation using Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) on the LOC. This resulted in the successful identification of the target species of sharks in under an hour, with a working positive and negative control. The LOC provided a simple "yes" or "no" result via a colour change from pink to yellow when one of the target species was present. The LOC serves as proof-of-concept (PoC) for field-based species identification as it does not require specialist facilities. It can be used by non-scientifically trained personnel, especially in areas where there are suspected high frequencies of mislabelling or for the identification of dried shark fins in seizures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-harvest practices and technologies are key to reducing global aquatic harvest loss. The lives of post-harvest fisheries workers, over half of them women, are deeply affected by these technologies, but their equity and equality outcomes are poorly understood. This systematic review synthesizes evidence of post-harvest aquatic food processing technology outcomes, showing that persistent inequalities in social structure and norms disadvantage women across a range of technologies, both traditional and improved, especially regarding control over resources. We found that improved technologies bring enhanced productivity and possibly income for workers, yet contracts are often precarious due to pre-existing social inequities. While power and control of resources is more unequal in factory settings, it is not necessarily equal in traditional contexts either, despite offering greater flexibility. More rigorous comparative research, including voices of diverse actors, is key to understanding the impacts of different technologies on gender equality and social justice and inform policymaking., (© 2024. Springer Nature Limited.)

Conservation planning traditionally relies upon static reserves; however, there is increasing emphasis on dynamic management (DM) strategies that are flexible in space and time. Due to its novelty, DM lacks best practices to guide design and implementation. We assessed the effect of planning unit size in a DM tool designed to reduce entanglement of protected whales in vertical ropes of surface buoys attached to crab traps in the lucrative U.S. Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) fishery. We conducted a retrospective analysis from 2009 to 2019 with modeled distributions of blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whales and observed fisheries effort and revenue to evaluate the effect of 7 planning unit sizes on DM tool performance. We measured performance as avoided whale entanglement risk and protected fisheries revenue. Small planning units avoided up to $47 million of revenue loss and reduced entanglement risk by up to 25% compared to the large planning units currently in use by avoiding the incidental closure of areas with low biodiversity value and high fisheries revenue. However, large planning units were less affected by an unprecedented marine heat wave in 2014-2016 and by delays in information on the distributions of whales and the fishery. Our findings suggest that the choice of planning unit size will require decision-makers to navigate multiple socioecological considerations-rather than a one-size-fits-all approach-to separate wildlife from threats under a changing climate., (© 2024 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays ('elasmobranchs'), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species. Here we use a dedicated global survey of coral reef elasmobranchs to assess 66 fully protected areas embedded within a range of fisheries management regimes across 36 countries. We show that conservation benefits were primarily for reef-associated sharks, which were twice as abundant in fully protected areas compared with areas open to fishing. Conservation benefits were greatest in large protected areas that incorporate distinct reefs. However, the same benefits were not evident for rays or wide-ranging sharks that are both economically and ecologically important while also threatened with extinction. We show that conservation benefits from fully protected areas are close to doubled when embedded within areas of effective fisheries management, highlighting the importance of a mixed management approach of both effective fisheries management and well-designed fully protected areas to conserve tropical elasmobranch assemblages globally., (© 2024. Crown.)

Inland recreational fishing is primarily considered a leisure-driven activity in freshwaters, yet its harvest can contribute to food systems. Here we estimate that the harvest from inland recreational fishing equates to just over one-tenth of all reported inland fisheries catch globally. The estimated total consumptive use value of inland recreational fish destined for human consumption may reach US$9.95 billion annually. We identify Austria, Canada, Germany and Slovakia as countries above the third quantile for nutrition, economic value and climate vulnerability. These results have important implications for populations dependent on inland recreational fishing for food. Our findings can inform climate adaptation planning for inland recreational fisheries, particularly those not currently managed as food fisheries., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

This paper empirically examines the role of circularity performance on the performance of marine living resources to prove its role in promoting a sustainable blue economy. We use five different metrics to quantify the marine living resources of nations in the European regions, including the value added at the factor costs of small-scale capture fisheries, shellfish aquaculture, freshwater aquaculture, marine aquaculture, and large-scale capture fisheries. By using various econometric techniques, we provide evidence of the importance of circularity performance in improving the sustainability of the blue economy in the European region during the 2009-2020 period. However, it is more likely that this effect is only positive in the long term. In the long run, circularity performance affects many marine living resource components in a statistically meaningful way., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Based on the panel data of the province and municipality in 2010-2021, this paper measures the fishery eco-efficiency by using the SBM-DEA model and empirically analyses how China's marine ranch construction improves the fishery eco-efficiency by using the double-difference fixed-effect model. The results show that, firstly, China's marine ranch construction can improve the fishery eco-efficiency. Secondly, China's marine ranch construction promotes fisheries eco-efficiency by improving the input efficiency of labor, fish species, fishing vessel, fishery technology extension, aquaculture area and by reducing pollutant outputs. Thirdly, the fishery eco-efficiency of the marine ranch construction region has increased annually since 2015, and technological changes, scale efficiency changes and technical efficiency changes can all contribute to the fishery eco-efficiency improvement, and increase in order. Based on the results of the empirical analyses, this paper proposes policy recommendations to improve the fishery eco-efficiency in the conjunction with the construction of marine ranch in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Like in many parts of the world, the Baltic Sea experiences a multitude of processes and stressors that influence fish stock dynamics. This paper compartmentalizes 250 publications that examine the cumulative effects and trade-offs of some of the most significant environmental drivers (temperature change, hypoxia, nutrient enrichment, acidification, low salinity, and food-web dynamics) on the ecology of top commercial fish species in the Baltic Sea (cod, sprat, whiting, herring, flounder, and plaice). Methods: A systematic review method was applied to ensure rigorous coverage of existing literature and to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the current knowledge on the subject. Results: The results illustrate the extent of scientific research applicable to commercial fisheries knowledge in the Baltic Sea and identify which pressures have the greatest negative impacts on which stocks. Additionally, the findings demonstrate how well top commercial fish species have adapted to the changing environmental conditions of the Baltic Sea. In doing so, the review illustrates the upcoming challenges and underscores which stocks are likely to dominate in the future and which will face difficulties. Discussion: By considering ecosystem-based fisheries management, this paper emphasizes the need to account for complex ecosystem interactions beyond single-stock monitoring. With increased natural hazards, top commercial fish species have reacted differently, depending on the region and their adaptive capabilities. In most cases, Clupeidae species have adapted the best to their new surroundings, Pleuronectidae resilience is varied, while Gadidae species are finding the Baltic Sea increasingly challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine fishery carbon emissions play a significant role in agricultural carbon emissions, making resource allocation a crucial topic for the overall marine ecological protection. This paper evaluates the dynamic iteration method as a research approach with the factors of resource allocation consisting of value assessment, optimization objective, difference between value assessment and objective, and optimization calculation. The paper selects the shadow price from the Super-SBM model as the judgment function for the goal value, aiming for the fairness criterion. From an equity standpoint, the allocation of carbon resources in marine capture fisheries proves to be unreasonable. The fishery model exhibits an excessive supply of carbon resources, resulting in wastage, while the green fishery model faces a relatively limited supply, with a focus on energy conservation and environmental protection. To address this issue, this paper proposes a new method and discusses the corrective results. This result shows that the stabilization point achieved is a short-term equilibrium rather than a long-term one. By rectifying the social contradiction of profit-oriented approaches, this research provides a fresh perspective for economic studies and applications, particularly in industrial layout and resource utilization optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intrinsic and instrumental value of corals, and coral reefs, from the epistemological perspectives of Western conservation biologists and Pacific coastal fishers. It uses data on local language names ('folk taxonomies') from several language groups to understand the salience, or perceived value, of corals and coral reef fishes for the speakers of those languages. In all of the folk taxonomies examined, there are very few local language names for corals or reef-associated fishes in the most species-rich families (gobies, blennies, damselfishes, and butterflyfishes). This is interesting particularly because one of the primary rationales for Western conservation interest in Indo-Pacific coral reefs is the 'cumulative intrinsic value' of the large number of biological species associated with these ecosystems, irrespective of their other values, including fishery production. The 'weight' of this cumulative intrinsic value underpins a moral mandate for transnational conservation intervention, typically in the form of marine protected areas, most of which impose a short- to medium-term economic cost on people who are already very poor. The related and widely used Western cultural construct of 'iconic' is also investigated. The paper examines various implications of the large differences between Western scientific and Pacific Islander attributions of value to corals and coral reef ecosystems, including in the context of their importance for fishery production and food (or nutrition) security. I also discuss the apparent lack of (a) reflexivity about the social construction of science and (b) curiosity about the environmental knowledge and values of Indo-Pacific coastal fishers, among many in the Western transnational conservation community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing pressure of resource decline and environmental pollution faced by the green transformation of marine fisheries, marine fishery carbon sinks are an increasingly close link to national strategic interests and economic lifelines. It is, therefore, necessary to explore paths for the enhancement and development of the carbon sink capacity of marine fisheries. Based on the economic data of marine fisheries from 2002 to 2021, this paper measures the capacity and characteristics of marine fishery carbon sinks in provincial areas, applies the kernel density estimation method to depict the dynamic evolution of the distribution of absolute differences in marine fishery carbon sinks, and at the same time, identifies the factors influencing the spatial imbalance in the development of marine fishery carbon sinks as well as the spatial spillover effects. The results show the following: (1) From the total amount, the fishery carbon sink capacity of China's three marine economic circles has fluctuated and increased over the past 20 years, with obvious differences among different circles, and the marine fishery carbon sink capacity of the eastern, northern, and southern marine economic circles has risen sequentially. This trend corresponds to the economic disparities among the three circles, demonstrating a transition from economic to industrial driving effects. (2) From the spatial point of view, the fishery carbon sink capacity shows a trend of increasing year by year, concentrating in the circles, and overflowing between the circles. (3) The results of a partial derivative test further show that among the main influencing factors of marine fishery carbon sinks, capital, labor, and market openness have direct positive effects on marine fishery carbon sinks, and the direct effect of innovation is the strongest, and the significance of the indirect effect of the three circles is weaker compared to the direct effect and total effect. As a result, the carbon sink of China's marine fisheries has a large room for improvement, and in order to promote the high-quality development of China's marine fisheries, it is still necessary to accelerate the circulation of resources within the marine economic circle, accelerate the research of fishery technology, actively develop the carbon sink fishery, and enhance the specialization of aquatic product processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of morphological characteristics and growth information in fish scales is a crucial component of modern fishery biological research, while it has been less studied in fossil materials. This paper presents a detailed morphological description and growth analysis of a fossil ctenoid scale obtained from the Upper Cretaceous Campanian lacustrine deposits in northeastern China. The morphological features of this fossil scale are well-preserved and consistent with the structures found in ctenoid scales of extant fish species and display prominent ring ornamentation radiating outward from the central focus, with grooves intersecting the rings. A comparative analysis of the morphological characteristics between the fossil ctenoid scale and those well-studied extant fish Mugilidae allows us to explore the applicability of modern fishery biological research methods to the field of fossil scales. The scale length, scale width, the vertical distance from the focus to the apex of the scale, and the total number of radii have been measured. The age of the fish that possessed this ctenoid scale has been estimated by carefully counting the annuli, suggesting an age equal to or more than seven years. The distribution of growth rings on the scale potentially reflects the warm paleoclimatic condition and fish-friendly paleoenvironment prevalent during that period. This paper, moreover, serves as a notable application of fishery biological methods in the examination of fossil materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern China is a major producer of fishery products (including inland aquaculture, coastal mariculture, and coastal fishing products). The quality of the products is affected by hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in the sediments. Based on in-vitro luminescent bacterial assay, the baseline toxicity (BEQ Bio ) of 56 common HOCs were assessed in the present study. Specifically, the BEQ Bio of sediments declined from land (31-400 mg/kg) to sea (9.1-270 mg/kg). However, the toxicity contribution explained by the HOCs increased gradually from land (0.70 %) to sea (10 %) using Iceberg Modeling. In the inland pond, current use HOCs (pyrethroid pesticide (PEs), organic tin (OTCs), and antibiotic) exhibited considerable concentrations, although their toxicity contribution was very small (0.076 %), thus more regulations on the use of HOCs should be proposed and further screening is needed to confirm the major toxicants. In coastal mariculture area, the toxicity contribution of current use HOCs further declined (0.010 %), whereas environmental background HOCs, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), became increasingly significant, with the contribution ratio increasing from 0.37 % to 2.4 %. To minimize the negative impacts of PAHs, optimization of energy structure in transportation and coastal industry is required. In the coastal fishing area, the phased-out persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remained a major concern, in terms of both concentration and toxicity contribution. The phased-out POPs explained 7.0 % of the toxic effects of the sediments from the coastal fishing area, due to historical residue, industrial emissions, and their high toxicities. For this reason, it is critical to improve the relevant emission regulations and standards, so as to eventually reduce the unintentional discharges of POPs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Juan-ying Li reports financial support was provided by Shanghai Science and Technology Committee. Juan-ying Li reports financial support was provided by Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Monitoring and Restoration Technology. Qian Wang reports financial support was provided by Technology Innovation Center for Land Spatial Eco-restoration in Metropolitan Area, Ministry of Natural Resources. Wenhui He reports financial support was provided by the Shanghai Science and Technology Development Fund. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Global warming and unpredictable nature possess a negative impact on fisheries and the daily activities of other habitats. GIS and remote sensing approach is an effective tool to determine the morphological characteristics of the lake. The present study addresses the interactive effect of climate and landuse changes hit on fish catch in lake fisheries. We used a combination of the landscape disturbance index, vulnerability index, and loss index to construct a complete ecological risk assessment framework based on the landscape structure of regional ecosystems. The results indicate an increase from around 45%-76% in the percentage of land susceptible to moderate to ecological severe risk in the landscape from 2004 to 2023. Since 1950, temperature changes have increased by 0.4%, precipitation has decreased by 6%, and water levels have decreased by 4.2%, based on the results. The results indicate that landuse, water temperature, precipitation, and water depth significantly impact the aquaculture system. The findings strongly suggest integrating possible consequences of environmental change on fish yield for governance modeling techniques to minimize their effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Gadopsis (Percichthyidae) is a freshwater genus distributed in south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, and comprises two recognized species. Previous molecular phylogenetic investigations of the genus, mostly conducted in the pre-genomics era and reflecting a range of geographic and molecular sampling intensities, have supported the recognition of up to seven candidate species. Here we analyze a genome-wide SNP dataset that provides comprehensive geographic and genomic coverage of Gadopsis to produce a robust hypothesis of species boundaries and evolutionary relationships. We then leverage the SNP dataset to characterize relationships within candidate species that lack clear intraspecific phylogenetic relationships. We find further support for the seven previously identified candidate species of Gadopsis and evidence that the Bass Strait centered candidate species (SBA) originated from ancient hybridization. The SNP dataset permits a high degree of intraspecific resolution, providing improvements over previous studies, with numerous candidate species showing intraspecific divisions in phylogenetic analysis. Further population genetic analysis of the Murray-Darling candidate species (NMD) and SBA finds support for K = 6 and K = 7 genetic clusters, respectively. The SNP data generated for this study have diverse applications in natural resource management for these fishes of conservation concern., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents the design and development of a coastal fisheries monitoring system that harnesses artificial intelligence technologies. Application of the system across the Pacific region promises to revolutionize coastal fisheries management. The program is built on a centralized, cloud-based monitoring system to automate data extraction and analysis processes. The system leverages YoloV4, OpenCV, and ResNet101 to extract information from images of fish and invertebrates collected as part of in-country monitoring programs overseen by national fisheries authorities. As of December 2023, the system has facilitated automated identification of over six hundred nearshore finfish species, and automated length and weight measurements of more than 80,000 specimens across the Pacific. The system integrates other key fisheries monitoring data such as catch rates, fishing locations and habitats, volumes, pricing, and market characteristics. The collection of these metrics supports much needed rapid fishery assessments. The system's co-development with national fisheries authorities and the geographic extent of its application enables capacity development and broader local inclusion of fishing communities in fisheries management. In doing so, the system empowers fishers to work with fisheries authorities to enable data-informed decision-making for more effective adaptive fisheries management. The system overcomes historically entrenched technical and financial barriers in fisheries management in many Pacific island communities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Governments play crucial roles in addressing social-ecological traps - situations where feedbacks between social and ecological systems lead to reinforcement between resource degradation and livelihood impoverishment. While it is widely recognized that resolving these traps necesitates integrated measures, empirical studies often focus on the impact of individual measures. This paper investigates all measures employed by the local government to address traps in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture and examines how these measures contribute to solving the traps. Based on empirical data from the Tam Giang lagoon, Central Viet Nam, it finds that the goverment develops measures that align with "good practices" which focus on both ecological and social challenges. Yet, in practice, it prioritizes addressing ecological challenges over the social ones. The government primarily directs resources and efforts toward combating resource degradation. Measures that tackle the high dependency on fisheries resources and lack of alternative livelihoods are often sidelined. These practices fail to address the key drivers and reinforceing feedbacks that create the social-ecological trap. The paper highlights gaps between science, policy and practice in addressing social-ecological traps. Bridging these gaps and transforming government responses to the traps require effective communication of scientific knowledge to the government; facilitation of collaborations among researchers, policymakers, managers and practictioners; provision of financial support to the goverment and addressing the lack of political will of the government., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The current epoch in fisheries science has been driven by continual advances in laboratory techniques and  increasingly sophisticated approaches to analysing datasets. We now have the scientific knowledge and tools to proactively identify obstacles to the sustainable management of marine resources. However, in addition to technological advances, there are predicted global environmental changes, each with inherent implications for fisheries. The 2023 symposium of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles called for "open and constructive knowledge exchange between scientists, stakeholders, managers and policymakers" (https://fsbi.org.uk/symposium-2023/), a nexus of collaborative groups best placed to identify issues and solutions. Arguably, the Centre of Environment, Aquaculture and Fisheries Science (Cefas) and their Scientific Advice for Fisheries Management (SAFM) Team sit at the centre of such a network. SAFM regularly engages with managers and stakeholders, undertakes scientific research, provides fisheries advice to the UK government, and are leading experts within the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). As such, this paper is an opinion piece, linked to individual authors specialisms, that aims to highlight emerging issues affecting fisheries and suggest where research efforts could be focused that contribute to sustainable fisheries., (© 2024 Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

This paper uses a particle tracking model to simulate the distribution of fishing-related marine-sourced plastic litter from demersal trawling activities along the Atlantic coast of Scotland. The modelled fishing litter dispersed widely across the region, with ∼50% of the particles beaching along the northwestern Scottish coast after a year-long simulation. The model was tuned using observations of beached litter loadings along the same coastline to estimate the annual input, by mass, of small (<1 kg) plastic litter. Model results suggest that between 107 g and 280 g of small fishing-related litter enters the ocean per hour of fishing, resulting in an estimated 234 t to 614 t of small fishing-related litter entering the ocean annually on the Scottish west coast. These results suggest that fishing on the Atlantic coast of Scotland may be a significant source of marine plastic. However, more modelled and observational data are required to reduce uncertainty., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Plastics entering the marine environment primarily originate from land-based sources, prompting significant attention on single-use plastic packaging. However, fishing plastic waste also contributes substantially to marine plastic pollution, though it is often overlooked in the literature due to the challenges in pinpointing pollution sources. This study addresses this key knowledge gap by synthesizing existing literature to explore and document the knowns and known unknowns surrounding fishing plastic waste's environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts. Through the development of a causal loop diagram, the study offers a preliminary understanding of the issue, serving as a foundation for a deeper exploration of the complexities within the fishing industry's plastic waste dynamics. Finally, the study highlights that short-sighted views and approaches are likely to lead to systemic failures. Therefore, it advocates for strategic and meaningful measures to tackle marine plastic pollution, emphasizing the critical importance of a holistic and integrated understanding of the various plastic waste streams infiltrating and polluting our oceans., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Larisha Apete reports financial support was provided by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Olwenn V. Martin reports a relationship with Food Packaging Forum that includes: board membership, consulting or advisory, and travel reimbursement. Olwenn V. Martin is one of the European Parliament's representatives on the management board of the European Chemical Agency. She is also a member of the OECD's Plastics Expert Group and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Food Packaging Forum. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that poses risks for the human population, mainly by eating contaminated fish. Mercury is released into the atmosphere from a variety of anthropogenic activities, with levels of emissions and under policy controls that largely vary across the world, leading thus to different relative contributions to the environmental matrices. Establishing the exact sources of this contaminant in the environment is crucial to optimising the policies aimed at mitigating the exposure risks for specific populations or ecosystems. In this study, we modelled, for the first time, the fingerprint of mercury anthropogenic emissions, jointly released by source-sectors (11) and source-regions (13), on the deposition over (19) FAO fishery zones, and on the FAO official fishery productions worldwide over the 2012-2021 decade. Using mercury anthropogenic emissions for 2012 from EDGAR, East Asia and "Artisanal and Small scale Gold Mining" result the source-region and the source-sector, respectively, that contribute the most to the mercury deposition over all the FAO fishery zones. The only exception applies for the FAO fishery zone 37, the Mediterranean Sea, where the "Industrial Combustion" from the closest Europe is the pair region-sector whose joint contribution is the greatest. When normalised to the overall fishery production worldwide, representing the global fish consumption, the anthropogenic mercury fingerprint showed a similar general pattern, however with notable differences, amplifying the relative contributions of all source-sectors from East Asia and attenuating the relative contributions of the regions in the Southern Hemisphere. This fingerprint further changes when the fish consumption in countries, classified by the World Bank as having different incomes, is considered. These results demonstrate that the same anthropogenic mercury deposited on any fishery zone actually affects in a different way the different population segments worldwide. This study aims to urge the science community as well as the policy makers to use a measure that better represents the mercury hazard for human health. Further, we hope that this study, using nomenclatures that are largely used on final shelf-product, could increase the people's awareness regarding the products they consume., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Clearly delineating the key capabilities of organizational resilience for fisheries enterprises holds significant practical implications, as it can mitigate financing risks and foster the sustainable development of the fisheries industry. Based on the "dynamic capabilities perspective", this study constructs an analytical framework for the resilience capabilities of fisheries enterprises against financing risk. A hybrid method comprising the probabilistic linguistic term set, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory, and the additive ratio assessment is applied to a case study of Homey Group, examining the diverse pathways through which financing risk forms and impacts outcomes. The main findings are: (1) In the comprehensive assessment of the role of resilience capabilities in addressing the "Risk-Seeking-Decline Type" financing risk factors, market diversification and sustainable practices are accorded higher weights surpassing financial resources as the two most value-enhancing resilience capabilities. Enterprises characterized by a "Risk-Seeking-Loss Type" profile tend to assign higher weights to market diversification and technological infrastructure when evaluating financing risk resilience capabilities. (2) Regarding the key capabilities of organizational resilience, Homey Group possesses a weak risk management system for monitoring and evaluating significant risks and implementing control activities. (3) With regards to suggestions for improvement, it is advisable to delegate oversight of the risk identification process to a designated risk committee or specialists in risk management. The conclusions contribute to a deeper understanding of the nature and mechanism of resilience capabilities for fisheries enterprises and provides implications for risk management and sustainable development., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To support the movement in marine fisheries management toward ecosystem‐based fisheries management by exploring ecosystem‐level reference points (ELRPs) as an option for managing fisheries at the ecosystem level. An ELRP is an ecosystem harvest level or indicator with one or more associated benchmarks or thresholds (i.e., targets, limits) to identify, monitor, or maintain desirable ecosystem conditions and functions. Methods: This paper explores the development and implementation of ELRPs in fisheries management to support ecosystem and fisheries sustainability, help identify when ecosystem changes that impact fisheries resources occur, and foster discussions of trade‐offs in management decisions. Result: We organize existing and potential ELRPs into five categories (statistical analysis of nonlinear dynamics and tipping points, ecosystem productivity, ecosystem trophic information, biodiversity, and human dimensions), provide an overview of analytical methods that can estimate ELRP benchmarks, provide examples of where ELRP benchmarks are being used today, and evaluate pros and cons of the different ELRP categories. We also attempt to identify potential next steps for fisheries scientists and managers to further the science, development, and application of ELRPs. Conclusion: Ecosystem‐level reference points can be used as a proactive accountability mechanism to achieve ecosystem objectives and maintain the ecosystem in a preferred operating space or as an early warning that ecosystem‐level changes (e.g., tipping points) could be imminent if current biological and ecological trends in the system continue. Impact statementEcosystem‐level reference points (ELRPs) are a fundamental concept in ecosystem‐based fisheries management (EBFM) that are not currently being used to their full potential. Given the challenges associated with managing fisheries in a changing climate, this paper highlights ELRPs as a tool to advance the field of EBFM in the United States and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine fishery is a high-risk industry, and when a fishing vessel is in distress at sea, it is essential to protect the lives of the fishermen by implementing a fast and effective rescue for the vessel in distress. In this process, quickly retrieving the closest neighboring vessel in distress based on an effective rescue time is critical to the vessel's rescue. In order to improve the time efficiency of retrieving the nearest available rescue vessels in the current sea area, this paper proposes a method based on the Google S2 grid coding for ships in distress at sea. The method is divided into three parts: (1) encoding the ship's position based on the Google S2 algorithm, (2) retrieving the set of available ships in the current sea area based on the effective rescue distance and its corresponding coding level, and (3) sorting the set of available ships in the current sea area according to the proximity to the ship in distress by using the method of "Alternating Grid Sorting Based on Neighborhoods and Different Coding Levels". The effective rescue distance is set by the rescue time, the type of rescue vessel, and the speed. This paper sets the simulation experiment area as the East China Sea area. Different magnitudes of ship position datasets (1 × 102, 1 × 103, 1 × 104, 1 × 105, 1 × 106) are generated by simulating the scenarios where a ship's location is reported or collected by AIS or VMS. The temporal retrieval efficiencies of querying based on the two methods, the Euclidean distance and the Google S2 grid encoding, are compared and analyzed. The experimental results show that the total time consumed by the query method based on the Google S2 grid encoding and the query method based on Euclidean distance is reduced by 37.06%, 29.83%, 72.75%, 94.43%, and 94.53%, respectively, in the process of generating the set of rescuable ships retrieved, based on the effective rescue distance. Therefore, the time retrieval efficiency of the maritime vessel search and rescue method based on the Google S2 coding is high, which can effectively improve the query efficiency of rescue vessels in the neighborhood of distressed vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trait-based approach provides a powerful perspective for analyzing fisheries and their potential impact on marine ecological processes, offering crucial insights into sustainability and ecosystem functioning. This approach was applied to investigate trends in fish assemblages landed by both local and coastal fishing fleets in the Azores archipelago over the past four decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s). A matrix of ten traits was built to assess functional redundancy (Fred), functional over-redundancy (FOve), and functional vulnerability (FVul) for the fish assemblages caught by every fishing fleet in each decade. The susceptibility of the Azorean fishery to negative impacts on ecosystem functioning was evidenced by low FRed (<1.5 species per functional entity) and high FVul (exceeding 70 %). However, there is reason for optimism, as temporal trends in the 2000s and 2010s showed an increase in FRed and FOve along with a significant decrease in FVul. These trends indicate the adaptation of the fishery to new target species and, notably, the effectiveness of local fish regulations in mitigating the impacts of targeting functionally important species, such as Elasmobranchii, over the past two decades. These regulations have played a pivotal role in preserving ecological functions within the ecosystem, as well as in managing the removal of high biomass of key important species (e.g., Trachurus picturatus, Pagellus bogaraveo, and Katsuwonus pelamis) from the ecosystem. This study contributes to understanding the delicate balance between fishing pressure, ecological resilience, and sustainable resource management in Azorean waters. It also highlights the importance of continued monitoring, adaptive management, and the enforcement of local fishing regulations to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the fishery and the broader marine ecosystem., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The intensive utilization of tropical inland water bodies for multiple and sometimes competing activities underlines the necessity for their integrated and holistic co-management. This paper presents our synthesis on lake and reservoir fisheries in South and Southeast Asia as social-ecological systems, based on a synopsis of our research findings from a previous EU-funded research programme in Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines (FISHSTRAT project). The paper attempts to merge our results with recent developments in research, policy and practice. We explore the effects of the main external and internal control mechanisms of the trophic state and pinpoint to the high production potential of traditionally unexploited small indigenous fish species. The limitations of conventional centralized management systems highlight the importance of introducing transdisciplinary approaches which integrate limnology, fish ecology and fisheries with the interests of other resource using stakeholders and decision makers in order to develop locally appropriate co-management strategies for sustainable aquatic resource use., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This paper analyzes the technical assistance program for research and fishery development, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Brazil, between 1955 and 1978. We argue what were the motivations of the developed countries, the FAO and Brazil to mobilize this knowledge and how the socio-institutional support for its achievement was built. Following the itinerary of experts and attending to the characteristics of the field of fishing biology, we show how the Brazilian field of research, policies and fishing activity were built simultaneously. For this purpose, we used reports from several experts from the FAO and Brazilian public bodies.

Blast fishing is an illegal, ecologically destructive fishing method, fatal for many fish species at large scales. Blast fishing using dynamite is preferred by the fishers, especially small scale fisheries in Turkey, as it requires minimal effort but still results in higher catches. In the current study, demonstration of 20 controlled real-time blasting results involves species composition, size of fish, catch rates, catch composition, commercial/discard ratios, CPUE estimates and clinical observations of external and internal abnormality symptoms of fish species. Blasting trials were carried out with special permission in limited numbers because of its harmful effect. The collected data was tested using PRIMER v6 and diversity indices were also analysed. For the similarity between collected species cluster analysis was used to examine the stability of the results. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was also applied for the assessment of fish species in the catch. A total of 1014 individuals (63.8 kg) were collected and 18 fish species belonging to seven families were examined. According to laboratory examinations, it was found that blasting caused different external and internal abnormality symptoms in the sampled fish species during the study., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study has examined the factors of fishing grounds footprint in Malaysia during 1961-2018, which has been used as the indicator of environmental degradation. The main contribution of this paper is that we have considered the role of aggregated and disaggregated fisheries production on pollution in the fishing industry. Another contribution of this study is that the environmental impact of activities of licensed fishermen has been examined. The results suggest that the total fisheries production and its components- capture fisheries production and aquaculture production generate an increase in fishing grounds footprint in Malaysia. The results suggest that an increase in total licensed fishermen facilitate an increase in fishing grounds footprint. There is mixed evidence on the impact of local fishermen on fishing footprint. The results indicate that an increase in foreign fishermen facilitate an increase in fishing grounds footprint. The results suggest mixed evidence for Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes the fishing profile and the temporal variation in the commercial landings of elasmobranchs in a global hotspot for their conservation and investigates the variables that influenced the landings. Census data on commercial catches were obtained between April 2008 and October 2010 from nine landing sites in Bragança (Pará, northern Brazil). Five vessel types, four fishing gears, and eight fishing techniques engaged with elasmobranch capture were identified. A total of 2,357 landings were recorded, with a total production of 354 t. The highest yields were recorded in 2009, with sharks being harvested mostly by small and medium-sized vessels, and batoids, by small vessels and canoes. Drifting nets and longlines played a prominent role in elasmobranch fisheries. The results show that the landings were influenced by days at sea, which is common in tropical fisheries. The elasmobranch data series is discontinuous as statistics are absent for most fishing sites albeit imperative for proper management, as well as relevant for decision-makers focusing on their conservation.

Blast fishing is an illegal fishing method that not only affects fish populations and the marine ecosystem, but also local food security and local economy. Despite its effects, blast fishing continues to persist in many coastal regions around the world, including Todos os Santos Bay (BTS - Baia de Todos os Santos) in Northeastern Brazil. This study provides the first acoustic record of underwater explosions along this region. The acoustic data were collected between 2016 and 2018, from a boat-survey platform, using a portable system consisting of an HTI-90 min hydrophone (sensitivity of about -165 dB re 1 V/μPa) connected to a TASCAM DR-40 digital recorder (combined frequency response up to 30 kHz), recording at 7 m depth. The acoustic analysis was performed using both RAVEN 1.6 and MATLAB 2021a softwares. The results revealed a distinctive underwater explosion signal detected in the BTS, indicating evidence of blast fishing activities. The acoustic characterization of blast fishing in BTS provides crucial information on its occurrence and extent of this destructive practice worldwide., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Despite a growing literature on fishing grounds footprint, there is no study analyzing fishing footprint regarding spatial effects between neighboring countries. Thus, we explored whether the fishing grounds footprint of 156 countries is spatially correlated. For this purpose, we applied the dynamic spatial Durbin model to examine the direct and indirect effects of GDP per capita, biological capacity, trade openness, population, and urbanization on fishing grounds footprint in the short-term and the long-term during 2001-2021. The results revealed that: (1) there exists a positive and significant spatial dependence in fishing grounds footprint between countries; (2) inverted U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is valid in the short-term and the long-term; (3) fishing grounds footprint is negatively influenced by biocapacity and urbanization in neighboring countries, while population directly increases the fishing footprint. Finally, some suggestions were put forward to reduce fishing grounds footprint and to achieve a sustainable fisheries environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Western Mediterranean fisheries significantly contribute to the regional blue economy, despite evidence of ongoing, widespread overexploitation of stocks. Understanding the spatial distribution and population dynamics of species is crucial for comprehending fisheries dynamics combining local and regional scales, although the underlying processes are often neglected. In this study, we aimed to (i) evaluate the seasonal and long-term spatio-temporal fluctuations of crustacean, cephalopod, and fish populations in the Western Mediterranean, (ii) determine whether these fluctuations are driven by the spatial structure of the fisheries or synchronic species fluctuations, and (iii) compare groupings according to the individual species and life history-based groups. We used dynamic factor analysis to detect underlying patterns in a Landing Per Unit Effort (LPUE) time series (2009-2020) for 23 commercially important species and 33 ports in the Western Mediterranean. To verify the spatial structure of ports and species groupings we investigated the seasonal and long-term spatio-temporal fluctuations and common LPUE trends that exhibit non-homogeneous and species-specific trends, highlighting the importance of life history, environmental and demographic preferences. Long-term trends revealed spatial segregation with a north-south gradient, demonstrating complex population structures of Western Mediterranean resources. Seasonal patterns exhibited a varying spatial aggregation based on species-port combinations. These findings can inform the Common Fishery Policy on gaps challenging their regionalisation objectives in the Mediterranean Sea. We highlight the need for a nuanced and flexible approach and a better understanding of sub-regional processes for effective management and conservation - a current challenge for global fisheries. Our LPUE approach provides insight into population dynamics and changes in regional fisheries, relevant beyond the Mediterranean Sea., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Manuel Hidalgo reports administrative support, statistical analysis, and travel were provided by Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Manuel Hidalgo reports article publishing charges was provided by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Konstancja Wozniacka reports financial support was provided by Erasmus Plus. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Plastic pollution poses global and societal concerns, especially from discarded fishing gear, threatening seabed environments like coral reefs. This study examines the incorporation of lost and/or abandoned fishing gear - specifically synthetic lines, and filaments - into the structure of orange tree coral, Dendrophyllia ramea along the coast of Portugal, in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. The specimens were inadvertently captured by local fishers (Sines and Cascais), with 6 % showing filaments inside their structure, raising questions about their potential impact on coral health. We discuss the implications of understanding the interactions between plastics, fishing gear, and corals, which is important for developing conservation strategies. We address the need for improved of measures aimed at reducing the impact of fishing gear on corals, emphasizing the importance of endorsing biodegradable fishing materials and supporting lost gear retrieval initiatives. Furthermore, we emphasize the urgent need to communicate these issues to both fishers and stakeholders., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Recent estimates of the size at first maturity (L 50 ) of Sardinella brasiliensis showed contradictory results with a decreasing in the fish stock biomass encompassed by increasing values of L 50 . The methodological approach used hereby allowed to separate sardines classified in the virginal maturity stage from those categorized in the recovery stage, and ready for one next spawning event. This study evaluated the hypothesis of the existence of separated stocks experiencing distinct environmental conditions and fishing pressures which may have altered L 50 estimates using a robust dataset based on biological samples collected along the entire species distribution area in the southeast-south Brazilian coast [Rio de Janeiro (RJ), São Paulo (SP), Paraná (PR), Santa Catarina (SC) and Rio Grande do Sul (RS)] between 2000 and 2018. A reclassification of the gonadal maturity stages provided a more realistic estimate of L 50. Combining biological, reproductive, fishing data and the mean temperature of the catch (MTC), the leave-one-out classification correctly re-assigned individuals with an overall accuracy of 85% [100% (RJ), 45% (SP), 99% (PR), 99% (SC) and 82% (RS)]. The connectivity between the local populations of S. brasiliensis off RJ (23°S) and the southern populations is limited, contrasting to spatial structured semi-discrete population-units found between SP and RS (24°S-30°S). The northern extreme population-unit (RJ, 22°S-23°S) showed an expressive reduction of L 50 , and a negative correlation was detected between the increasing MTC values and the abundance of early maturing individuals and recruits of the species. Stock specific L 50 estimates seemed to act as indicators of long term environmental fluctuations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper emphasizes the crucial needs and reasons to ensure the reliability and repeatability of underwater acoustic measurements. As an exemplification of the aforementioned acoustic measurements challenges, the development of metrological infrastructure in the area of underwater acoustics in GUM (Central Office of Measures, Poland) is presented. An analysis of presented solutions was carried out mainly in the low frequency range, in comparison with other solutions recently developed worldwide. Moreover, factors influencing the sensitivity of hydroacoustic measuring devices are discussed. The summary of this discussion outlines the further works aimed at ensuring the reliability and repeatability of underwater acoustic measurements. The conclusions present the current state of the calibration infrastructure of underwater acoustic devices, with particular emphasis on marine ecology and fisheries sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, third largest fish producer, and second largest aquaculture producer. There have been numerous studies of aquaculture and fisheries in Nigeria, but no study to date has analyzed aquaculture and capture fisheries value chains together, while giving equal weight to all value chain segments and systematically capturing information on temporal trends in value chain structure, conduct, and performance. This paper does so. Methods: We conducted a structured, qualitative, rapid reconnaissance survey of 180 actors from eight segments of the aquatic food value chain in three Nigerian states with contrasting geographies, Ebonyi, Kebbi, and Oyo. Results: Results particularly important for future research and policy are as follows. (1) Partial vertical integration is a common feature of the organization of firms in all value chain segments, as a risk reduction strategy to overcome market imperfections and frictions. Scarcity and high cost of imported intermediate inputs is stimulating local innovation and import substitution manufacturing of feeds and fabricated items. (2) Inter-sectoral spillovers from the poultry industry have hastened the development of fish value chains, while improvements in power supply have enabled the expansion of cold storage capacity, facilitating the geographical lengthening of frozen fish value chains. (3) Rapid technological and/or institutional change is occurring in all value chain segments, including those usually viewed as traditional, such as processing and fishing. Logistics services are becoming more specialized and sophisticated, and digital communications technologies including social media play an increasingly important role in value chain coordination and marketing. (4) Increasing opportunity costs of time drive demand for convenience foods such as smoked and fried fish, which require little further preparation and can be stored at room temperature. Demand for farmed catfish is linked to growing consumption of food away from home at bars and restaurants. (5) Significant opportunities exist to improve the performance of value chains in terms of gender equity, environmental impacts, and food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of recovered Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush populations in Lake Superior by describing its population dynamics, ecology, and recent research and management activities since 1993, when Lake Trout were declared rehabilitated. Methods: Data from commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, agency stocking reports, and natural resource agency fishery‐independent survey data along with published research findings on lean Lake Trout in Lake Superior between 1993 and 2022 were synthesized and reported. Result: Currently, Lake Trout populations are self‐sustaining and lightly exploited with only a few areas with elevated total mortality rates. The total annual mortality has been far below the target maximum range of 42–45%. Furthermore, stocking of hatchery Lake Trout is no longer necessary. Conclusion: We have learned from research and management experience that the regulatory role of Lake Trout in the Great Lakes is critical to proper ecosystem function. Thus, continued commitment from natural resource agencies to cooperate and implement effective management actions is required to preserve the accomplishments of lakewide recovery of Lake Trout populations. Impact statementThe Lake Trout is the keystone predator in deepwater areas of the Great Lakes, and its successful recovery in Lake Superior has restored ecosystem stability and valued fisheries. This paper synthesizes information that describes the status of a highly managed species after restoration objectives have been achieved and maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging fishing activity due to melting ice and poleward species distribution shifts in the rapidly‐warming Arctic Ocean challenges transboundary management and requires proactive governance. A 2021 moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic high seas provides a 16‐year runway for improved scientific understanding. Given substantial knowledge gaps, characterizing areas of highest uncertainty is a key first step. Marine ecosystem model ensembles that project future fish distributions could inform management of future Arctic fisheries, but Arctic‐specific variation has not yet been examined for global ensembles. We use the Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Intercomparison Project ensemble driven by two Earth System Models (ESMs) under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5) to illustrate the current state of and uncertainty among biomass projections for the Arctic Ocean over the duration of the moratorium. The models generally project biomass increases in more northern Arctic ecosystems and decreases in southern ecosystems, but wide intra‐model variation exceeds projection means in most cases. The two ESMs show opposite trends for the main environmental drivers. Therefore, these projections are currently insufficient to inform policy actions. Investment in sustained monitoring and improving modeling capacity, especially for sea ice dynamics, is urgently needed. Concurrently, it will be necessary to develop frameworks for making precautionary decisions under continued uncertainty. We conclude that researchers should be transparent about uncertainty, presenting these model projections not as a source of scientific "answers," but as bounding for plausible, policy‐relevant questions to assess trade‐offs and mitigate risks. Plain Language Summary: As the Arctic Ocean gets warmer, melting ice is opening up new opportunities for fishing. However, we don't know where fish will go and how they can be managed sustainably. An important first step is to figure out which unknowns we can solve quickly with more research, and what is so uncertain that we will have to make decisions without ideal information. In this paper, we looked at uncertainty in a set of global models that predict how fish populations might shift in the next 10–25 years. Overall, these models show that fish populations might increase in the northern parts of the Arctic while decreasing in the south. But the models make very different predictions, and some disagree on whether fish populations will increase or decrease in certain areas. A major source of uncertainty is how sea ice will change, and how ocean life will respond. Therefore, this is a priority area to invest in long‐term research and better models. Overall, these models are too uncertain to rely on for specific management decisions about Arctic fishing. Instead, scientists and decision makers can use them to shape more informed discussions about potential trade‐offs and risks of future fishing in the Arctic. Key Points: Variation and disagreement in marine ecosystem model projections are too high to be informative for near‐term Arctic fisheries managementInsufficient inclusion and knowledge of sea ice cover and sea ice productivity dynamics are major drivers of uncertaintyResearchers should be transparent about uncertainty and risk; present model projections as the basis for hypotheses and scenario planning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, seafood assessments and subsequent ratings have guided choice and responsible sourcing of sustainable seafood based primarily on environmental concerns, with limited to no consideration to multi-faceted human dimensions that form an integral part of these complex socialecological systems. For wild-capture marine fisheries around the world, and particularly in developing countries, human dimensions remain underrepresented in sustainability ratings, where the focus has traditionally been on larger, data-rich commercial fishery components that report predominantly on ecological and management considerations. Yet, addressing the diverse and complex nature of marine social-ecological systems remains critical to achieve global sustainable seafood systems that balance ecological and societal needs to benefit both nature and people. This paper champions the integration of human elements into seafood sustainability guides, building on work reviewing how best to integrate human dimensions into traditional seafood assessments under the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - drawing on examples from South Africa. While the paper does not prescribe a blueprint for implementation, this review highlights challenges and opportunities to include human rights violations and small-scale fisheries in existing sustainable seafood guides from a South African perspective. There is a need for sustainability considerations to move beyond fish to better represent how these socialecological systems feed into oceanic cultural norms and nutrition. This translates to shifting from an ecological focus to include human dimensions to better represent complex marine social-ecological systems and drive equitable change within local and global seafood industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have proposed and investigated an intraguild predator-prey system incorporating two delays and a harvesting mechanism based on the Michaelis-Menten principle, and it was assumed that the two species compete for a shared resource. Firstly, we examined the properties of the relevant characteristic equations to derive sufficient conditions for the asymptotical stability of equilibria in the delayed model and the existence of Hopf bifurcation. Using the normal form method and the central manifold theorem, we analyzed the stability and direction of periodic solutions arising from Hopf bifurcations. Our theoretical findings were subsequently validated through numerical simulations. Furthermore, we explored the impact of harvesting on the quantity of biological resources and examined the critical values associated with the two delays.

Fisheries social-ecological systems (SES) in the North Sea region confront multifaceted challenges stemming from environmental changes, offshore wind farm expansion, and marine protected area establishment. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of a Bayesian Belief Network (BN) approach in comprehensively capturing and assessing the intricate spatial dynamics within the German plaice-related fisheries SES. The BN integrates ecological, economic, and socio-cultural factors to generate high-resolution maps of profitability and adaptive capacity potential (ACP) as prospective management targets. Our analysis of future scenarios, delineating changes in spatial constraints, economics, and socio-cultural aspects, identifies factors that will exert significant influence on this fisheries SES in the near future. These include the loss of fishing grounds due to the installation of offshore wind farms and marine protected areas, as well as reduced plaice landings due to climate change. The identified ACP hotspots hold the potential to guide the development of localized management strategies and sustainable planning efforts by highlighting the consequences of management decisions. Our findings emphasize the need to consider detailed spatial dynamics of fisheries SES within marine spatial planning (MSP) and illustrate how this information may assist decision-makers and practitioners in area prioritization. We, therefore, propose adopting the concept of fisheries SES within broader integrated management approaches to foster sustainable development of inherently dynamic SES in a rapidly evolving marine environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Atlantic bonito (Sarda, family Scombridae) is a pelagic species and one of the most exploited small tuna species. Despite its economic importance, biological information is scarce with no associated management directives. In this study, using a population genomic approach resulted in a lack of panmixia of two genetic pools with different effective population sizes (east central-tropical Atlantic and northeast Atlantic-Mediterranean) and an intermixing zone in Atlantic Morocco. The absence of genetic heterogeneity between the locations in Atlantic - Mediterranean transitional zone adds new evidence that challenges the Strait of Gibraltar as a phylogeographic barrier for marine pelagic species. These results are proposed to the ICCAT Commission to establish management areas for this species, although they are not consistent with the recently adopted pelagic ecoregions. Finally, a panel of highly informative SNPs was developed for efficient and low-cost population assignment and the analysis of unresolved population structures., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interest. Jordi Vinas reports financial support and administrative support were provided by International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a global challenge that negatively affects marine environment through plastic pollution and continued capture of marine animals, so-called "ghost fishing". In different pot fisheries, ghost fishing related to ALDFG is of concern, including pot fishery targeting swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus). This study quantified the ghost fishing efficiency by comparing it to the catch efficiency of actively fished pots of the commercial fishery. The results showed that the ghost fishing affects both target and bycatch species. On average, the ghost fishing pots captured 12.53 % (confidence intervals: 10.45 %-15.00 %) undersized crab and 15.70 % (confidence intervals: 12.08 %-20.74 %) legal-sized crab compared to the actively fished pots. Few individuals of several bycatch species were also captured by ghost fishing pots. The results of this study emphasized the need to develop new management strategies for reducing marine pollution by ALDFG and associated negative effects in this pot fishery., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Tropical oceans are among the first places to exhibit climate change signals, affecting the habitat distribution and abundance of marine fish. These changes to stocks, and subsequent impacts on fisheries production, may have considerable implications for coastal communities dependent on fisheries for food security and livelihoods. Understanding the impacts of climate change on tropical marine fisheries is therefore an important step towards developing sustainable, climate-ready fisheries management measures. We apply an established method of spatial meta-analysis to assess species distribution modelling datasets for key species targeted by the Philippines capture fisheries. We analysed datasets under two global emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and varying degrees of fishing pressure to quantify potential climate vulnerability of the target community. We found widespread responses to climate change in pelagic species in particular, with abundances projected to decline across much of the case study area, highlighting the challenges of maintaining food security in the face of a rapidly changing climate. We argue that sustainable fisheries management in the Philippines in the face of climate change can only be achieved through management strategies that allow for the mitigation of, and adaptation to, pressures already locked into the climate system for the near term. Our analysis may support this, providing fisheries managers with the means to identify potential climate change hotspots, bright spots and refugia, thereby supporting the development of climate-ready management plans., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The vigorous development of marine fisheries carbon sinks (MFCS) has become a momentous pathway to mitigate global warming and effectively cope with the climate crisis. Deservedly, based on clarifying mechanism of carbon sequestration, this paper designs a research paradigm for predicting and evaluating the potential of MFCS. Specifically, a novel nonlinear grey Bernoulli model, namely MFCSNGBM(1,1), is proposed by innovatively mining the original data law through adaptive cumulative series and introducing the compound Simpson formula to optimize background values. More precisely, we utilize a heuristic Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm to find the best power index, which enhances the adaptability. To prove usefulness and robustness of MFCSNGBM(1,1) model, yields of seven common shellfishes (oyster, clam, mussel, scallop, razor clam, bloody clam, and snail) and three main algae (kelp, pinnatifid undaria, and laver) are predicted and compared with six competing models. Based on prediction results, new model has the most accurate predictions, with all prediction errors being <10 %, and thus can achieve effective prediction of shellfish and algae production from 2022 to 2025. Further, the capacity and potential of MFCS in China are scientifically evaluated using a removable carbon sink model, considering various yield levels and biological parameters of shellfish and algae. The assessment results show that during the sample period, China's marine fisheries carbon sinks steadily increased with an annual growth rate of 57,000 tons. From 2022 to 2025, with support of policy of MFCS and improvement of disaster prevention and mitigation capacity, the potential of MFCS will be further released. The growth rate of MFCS will be increased to 94,000 tons per year, and its overall scale is expected to reach 2,198,245 tons by 2025, equivalent to fixing 8.06 million tons of CO2. The carbon sink's economic value is significantly estimated to be over 400 billion yuan., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)