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The present paper reports the maximum length of the rare seen deep-sea fish bristlemouth Gonostoma denudatum Rafinesque, 1810 in the Mediterranean. One specimen of G. denudatum was caught using a trawler from the deep seas of Northern Cyprus waters on June 22th 2019. The total length (TL) of the specimen was 165 mm, the standard length (SL) was 149.5 mm, and the total weight was 16.2 g. Till today, this sample shown to this species maximum length (TL), which was recorded for the Mediterranean as well as in Eastern basin waters.

The length-weight relationships (LWRs) of fish are helpful in fisheries science. A total of 504 yellowspotted puffer (Torquigener flavimaculosus) specimens (257 female and 247 male) were caught from the Yumurtalık coast of Turkey (Eastern Mediterranean Sea) between 2018 and 2019 by using a trammel net set with a depth range between 5 and 42 m. The sex ratio was found 1:1.08 for males and females, respectively. The length-weight relationship was described for combined both sexes by the following formula W = 0.00130×L3.094 (r2 = 0.918) with a positive allometric growth. Fulton condition factor (CF) was calculated as 1.713 ± 0.145 for combined sexes. This study presents the first results available for the length-weight relationships and condition factor of T. flavimaculosus according to both sexes in the Yumurtalık coast of Turkey.

Gonostoma denudatum belonging to Gonostomatidae family are small fishes living in deep-sea around Atlantic and Mediterranean. They are vital species for plastic accumulation because they can be available in all depths of the water column during the day. In this study, it was aimed to present the recent record of G. denudatum, which captured from North Cyprus in May 2018. The total length of the specimen, which obtained from a depth of between 420 and 640 m, is 12.8 cm. Its photograph was taken and the catalogue number (MEUFC-19-11-108) was given. Morphometric characteristics were measured and calculated. The specimen is stored in the Museum of the Systematic, Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University.

Rabbitfish (Chimaera monstrosa, Linnaeus 1758), which is a deep-sea holocephalan mostly seen between 200-1000 m in depth. The specimen of C. monstrosa was caught in the deep-seas of Northern Cyprus by a commercial bottom trawler from Turkey. The depth of sampling area is between 456 and 690 m. Species description fulfilled with the help of morphological features and metric measurements. The specimen was preserved in 4% formaldehyde and deposited in the Museum of the Systematic, Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University, (Catalogue number: MEUFC-19-11-103).

Pathogenic microorganisms have been the primary cause of foodborne disease and food poisoning throughout the world for years. The use of natural antimicrobial agents in food coating has been effective in regulating the adverse effects of pathogens in food. Increasing antimicrobial efficacy in these coatings is one of the current issues of the food industry. In the present study, the antimicrobial properties of Enteromorpha sp., which is a marine algae, and gelatin film solution incorporated with Enteromorpha sp. methanol extract have been investigated. The contents of Enteromorpha sp. methanol extract were determined by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS). The most important components in the extract were methyl palmitoleate, neophytadiene, phytol, methyl linolenate and methyl stearate. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; the lowest concentration of test material which results in 99.9% inhibition of growth) of Enteromorpha sp. on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were found to be between 10.79 mg/mL and 26.86 mg/mL by spectrophotometric microdilution technique. The antimicrobial effect of gelatin- Enteromorpha sp. methanolic extract film solution against the same pathogens was determined by disc diffusion method. The inhibition zone of gelatin- Enteromorpha sp. film solution was reported between 0.1 and 5.1 mm against pathogens. After a 24-h incubation, the effectiveness of the film solution was lower (1.3 mm) when compared to the extract on E. coli (5.1 mm). As a result, this study clearly showed that Enteromorpha sp. could be used as antimicrobial food coating agent, especially, in E. coli struggle.

In this study, it was determined the chemical composition of the four ray species (Dasyatis pastinaca, Raja radula, Raja clavata and Torpedo marmorata) caught from Mersin Bay in the Northeastern Mediterranean Sea. For this purpose, lipid levels, fatty acid profiles, macro-trace elements, and heavy metal levels in the liver and muscle tissues of the Mediterranean rays were investigated. Lipid levels of liver tissue of D. pastinaca, R. radula, R. clavata, T. marmorata were determined to be 80.21%, 53.73%, 45.57% and 45.26%, respectively; while lipid levels for muscle tissue were 1.62%, 1.31%, 1.20% and 1.43%, respectively. In the fatty acid composition of muscle tissues of the rays; ∑SFAs (total saturated fatty acids) levels were reported to be between 30.46% and 35.00%, ∑MUFAs (total saturated fatty acids) levels were 21.49% to 27.77%, ∑PUFAs (total polyunsaturated fatty acids) levels were 28.76% to 35.69%; while for liver tissues; ∑SFAs levels were reported to be between 25.76% and 31.15%, ∑MUFAs levels were 23.43% to 30.66%, ∑PUFAs levels were 21.86% to 30.54%. According to data of this current study, no potential toxic metals (Cr, As, Cd, Pb, Hg) were detected in the fish oils obtained from the tissues. Finally, it was showed that these fish had potential for fish oil production because of their having fat in the liver tissues and there were also no potential heavy metal in the both muscle oil and liver oil, being rather healthy.

Eighty-five specimens of the lesser spotted dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula Linnaeus, 1758, was caught by a bottom trawl in the international waters of the Mersin Bay in May 2018. Some of the caught individuals were preserved in 4% formalin and was deposited in the Museum of the Systematic, Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University, (catalogue number: MEUFC-18-11-079). The depth of sampling area is between 274 and 641 m. A total of 13 trawling operations were carried out. The total number of caught individuals was 85 and on average 5 individuals were caught in each operation. The other cartilaginous fishes caught apart from S. canicula were Galeus melastomus (1 individual), Squalus acanthias (4 individuals), Etmopterus spinax (11 individuals) and S. canicula made up 84.16% of all cartilaginous fishes which were caught.

Two mature individuals of Trypauchen vagina were caught by trawl fishing at 30 m depth in the Mersin coastal areas in September 2018. Meristic and morphometric measurements of the individuals were done and compared with its measurements reported in other studies. In previous studies; one record from Mersin Bay and in totally three records of T. vagina in the Northeastern Mediterranean Sea were reported. In this study, the second record of T. vagina was reported from Mersin Bay.

The concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, chromium, arsenic, cadmium and lead were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) in the muscle, gill, brain and liver tissues of lessepsian fish species sampled from Taşucu region located on the south of Turkish coastal waters in the Mediterranean Sea for all seasons. While iron showed the highest levels, cadmium showed the lowest levels in the examined tissues of all fish species (Pelates quadrilineatus, Upeneus moluccensis, Nemipterus randalli, Saurida lessepsianus). Metal levels showed tissue-dependent changes in the species studied. Cadmium was detected only in the liver tissue in all fish, in addition to a few other tissues (U. moluccensis’s brain tissues in summer season and P. quadrilineatus’s gill tissues in winter season). The maximum accumulation of Fe except for N. randalli and S. lessepsianus was detected in liver tissue. The maximum accumulation of Cu in all species was detected in liver tissue. The maximum accumulation of Zn except for S. lessepsianus was also detected in liver tissue. The highest accumulations of As and Cr in other fish species except for N. randalli were also detected in liver tissue. Except for As accumulation in N. randalli, the least accumulation for metals in all species was determined in muscle tissue. According to the seasons, there was no statistically significant relation between metal accumulations. Metal concentrations in edible parts of fish species were 17.26-108.22 µg g-1 dw for iron, 0.54-3.65 µg g-1 dw for copper, 11.50-31.17 µg g-1 dw for zinc, 0.32-1.09 µg g-1 dw for chromium, 4.32-69.44 µg g-1 dw for arsenic, below limit (not detectable) for cadmium, N.D.-1.12 µg g-1 dw for lead. In this study, for all metals except arsenic there is no health risk through an exposure of consumption of certain fish. Additionally, the results obtained for the elements in analyzed fish species were within acceptable limits for human consumption.

In November 2018, an individual belonging to the Sudis hyalina was caught in a trawling operation in the Büyükeceli Coast (Mersin Bay, NE Mediterranean). Morphological and meristic measurements of the specimen were made and recorded with the catalogue number of MEUFC-18-11-102 in the Museum of the Systematic, Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University.