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The need to better understand the trade-offs between food production, trade and consumption; social and environmental impacts of food systems and food health requirements remains a challenge. Additionally, there is an urgency to transform the food system to reach the dietary patterns required to address the current diet-environment-health trilemma. Transformative changes are required to deal with the food system crisis. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen the links in the food chain and establish solid alliances between production and consumption with the objective of designing alternative food systems. In this context, the Agroecosystems History Laboratory of Pablo de Olavide University and Alimentta-Think tank for the transition of agrifood systems, organised the IX International Congress of Agroecology between the 19th and the 23rd of January, 2023, in Seville (Spain). Its theme was "Cultivating local agroecological-based food systems". Within the Congress, a hybrid panel of "Sowing initiatives with transformative potential in the fishing sector" was held to bring together initiatives with the capacity to generate transformative changes and enhance the value of fisheries in the field of agroecology and food sovereignty. The panel included communications related to seafood consumption, food sovereignty, co-management, inequalities, collaborative experiences, waste management, transformation processing and commercialisation. As a conclusion of the panel, a new perspective is required to redesign the agrifood systems and promote desirable multiple transformative changes that help to establish analytical and political action strategies in the field of fisheries as a food system. • Profound changes needed for agri-food system transformation and nature conservation. • Food sovereignty creates critical thinking and enganges local fishing communities. • Agreements for distant water fleets cause overfishing and force Africans to migrate. • Sufficiency, regeneration, distribution and care are crucial for agri-food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) are crucial species for the marine ecosystem of the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. They account for a high percentage of fish landings and they represent an important economic income for the fishery sector. Concerns over their stock status are rising in recent years as biomass, growth, reproductive capacity, and body condition of both species are declining, with latitudinal variations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a body condition monitoring scheme. Energy storage variability has important implications for both fish recruitment and population structure. Direct condition indices, such as energy density (ED) with bomb calorimetry, are highly reliable for measuring the energy content, but time-consuming. Alternatively, fatmeter analysis and relative condition index (Kn) have been proposed as effective indirect methods. The aim of this study is to test the application of fatmeter as a surrogate of bomb calorimetry to infer the energy content of sardine and anchovy. To validate its use, fatmeter values were compared with both ED and Kn values. Individuals of both species were sampled monthly for a year in order to assess seasonal variations in energy content. Our results highlight that fatmeter measurements are strongly correlated with calorimetry ED for sardine, while a weaker but significant correlation was found for anchovy. The observed differences between the two species are related to their breeding strategies. Based on this study, Kn cannot be considered a good proxy of the energy density of sardine, in particular during the resting period. By contrast, fatmeter analysis appears to be a faster and suitable method to evaluate the energy content of both species routinely. In addition, we provide a linear model to infer ED from fatmeter values for both small pelagic fish. Eventually, these findings could be used to implement body condition monitoring protocols and boost continuous large-scale monitoring. • Fatmeter measurements can be used as surrogate of bomb calorimetry. • Body condition of both species varied with size, reproductive state, and season. • Fatmeter values can be converted to energy density units. • A model to predict fatmeter values from dry weight values is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We quantified the incidence of microplastics in the gut contents of the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea and tested which variables influence this abundance, including the prevalence of parasites (i.e., trematoda larvae and nematodes). We detected a 58% occurrence of microplastics ingestion in sardines and a 60% in anchovies. With respect to sardines, the individuals with lower body conditions were found to have the highest microplastics ingestion probabilities, whereas in anchovies such probabilities were observed in individuals with higher gonadosomatic indices and smaller size. The areas with the highest microplastics ingestion probabilities were the Gulf of Alicante for sardines and the Gulf of Lion - Ebro Delta for anchovies. Both species showed a positive relationship between parasites and microplastics ingestion. These results highlight that both parasitism and ingestion of microplastics are concerns for the health of marine stocks and human consumers. Unlabelled Image • Ingestion of microplastics was studied for Mediterranean anchovy and sardine. • Occurrence of microplastics ingestion was 58% for sardines and 60% in anchovies. • Microplastics abundance was influenced by latitude and body condition for sardines. • For anchovy the main predictors were gonadosomatic index and total fish length. • Parasite prevalence was positive related with microplastics abundance in both species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variability in body condition and energy storage has important implications for fish recruitment and ecosystem structure. Understanding strategies for energy allocation to maintenance, reproduction and growth is essential to evaluate the state of the fish stocks. In this study, we address the energetics dynamics of the annual cycle of anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardines (Sardina pilchardus) in the north-western Mediterranean Sea using indirect and direct condition indices. We assessed and validated the use of morphometric, biochemical and energetic indices for both species. Annual patterns of the relative condition index (Kn), gonadosomatic index (GSI), lipid content (% lipids) and energy density (ED) were linked to the energy allocation strategy. Our results highlight that anchovy mainly rely on income energy to reproduce, while sardine accumulate the energy during the resting period to be used in the reproduction period. Consequently, variability in the lipid content and ED between seasons was lower in anchovy than in sardine. In both species, we observed an early decline in energy reserves in late summer-early fall, which may be related to unfavourable environmental conditions during spring and summer. Regarding the use of different condition indices, both direct indices, lipid content and ED, were highly correlated with Kn for sardine. ED was better correlated with Kn than lipid content for anchovy. For the first time, a relationship between ED of gonads and GSI for sardine and anchovy was provided, highlighting the importance of the energy invested in reproduction. This work provides new insights into the energy dynamics of sardine and anchovy. We also demonstrate which are the most suitable indices to measure changes in the physiological condition of both species, providing tools for the future monitoring of the populations of these two commercially and ecologically important fish species. • Variability in lipid content and energy density was lower in anchovy than in sardine. • Early decline in energy reserved in late summer for both species. • Direct and indirect body condition indices are suitable for sardine. • Energy density and Kn are preferable methods to measure the body condition of anchovy. • Energy density in gonads was highly related to the gonadosomatic index in both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the feeding ecology of marine predators is pivotal to developing an understanding of their ecological role in the ecosystem and determining the trophic relationships between them. Despite the ecological importance of predatory pelagic fish species, research on these species in the Mediterranean Sea is limited. Here, by combining analyses of stomach contents and stable isotope values, we examined the feeding strategies of swordfish, Xiphias gladius , little tunny, Euthynnus alletteratus and Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda, in the western Mediterranean Sea. We also compared the trophic niche and trophic level of these species with published information of other sympatric pelagic predators present in the ecosystem. Results indicated that, although the diet of the three species was composed mainly by fin-fish species, a clear segregation in their main feeding strategies was found. Swordfish showed a generalist diet including demersal species such as blue whiting, Micromesistius poutassou, and European hake, Merluccius merluccius, and pelagic fin-fish such as barracudina species ( Arctozenus risso and Lestidiops jayakari ) or small pelagic fish species. Little tunny and Atlantic bonito were segregated isotopically between them and showed a diet basically composed of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, and round sardinella, Sardinella aurita, and sardines, Sardina pilchardus , respectively. This trophic segregation, in addition to potential segregation by depth, is likely a mechanism that allows their potential coexistence within the same pelagic habitat. When the trophic position of these three predatory pelagic fish species is compared with other pelagic predators such as bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus , and dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus , present in the western Mediterranean Sea, we found that they show similar intermediate trophic position in the ecosystem. In conclusion, the combined stomach and isotopic results highlight, especially for little tunny and Atlantic bonito, the trophic importance of Clupeoid species in their diet. In addition, the importance of demersal resources for swordfish provides evidence for the pelagic-demersal coupling of the ecosystem and the need to manage marine resources in an integrated way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the main drivers of eggs and larvae distributions of European sardine and anchovy from the NW Mediterranean Sea. We used Generalized Additive Models and satellite environmental data. Mainly sea surface temperature, but also currents, surface height, and primary production were significantly correlated with both species' early stages distributions. Anchovy optimal temperature upper limit was not detected, but sardine eggs and larvae presented a small-ranged bell-shape curve relationship to SST with an upper SST threshold around 13 °C. Sardine spawning during winter appeared to be dependant not only on in-situ environmental conditions but also on summer conditions prior to the spawning event. Model predictions of the larval and spawning habitat distribution showed clear differences between developmental stages and between species, confirming a worsening of the sardine habitat with time. Considering the further increase of surface temperature predicted in the years to come, the survival of the sardine in the region could be compromised. • Surface Temperature is the main explanatory variable for European anchovy and sardine early stages distribution. • European sardine eggs and larval distribution are influenced by previous year conditions. • Small Distributional range and low densities of European Sardine eggs and larvae during its reproductive period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]