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The presence of Anisakidae at retail level, after the routine screening via candling, was investigated in cod, the most commonly consumed fish species in Belgium. A total of 780 pre-packed belly flap samples destined for one branch of retail shops were collected from a Belgian wholesale company. To recover all larvae, each sample was first candled and thereafter enzymatically digested. Larvae were morphologically identified to the genus level and a subset was additionally molecularly confirmed by amplification of the ITS fragment and HinfI/HhaI enzyme restriction. The PCR/RFLP profiles of Contracaecum spp. were determined and confirmed with sequencing by the European Reference Laboratory for Parasites (Istituto Superiore di Sanità). The positivity rate of Anisakidae in the individual cod samples was 18% [95%-CI: 15–21%], with a mean intensity of one larva [range: 1–6]. Belly flaps were sold packed primarily by two, with a one-in-three chance of buying an infected package. Pseudoterranova spp. infections (single infections) were most frequently detected (positivity rate 9% [95%-CI: 7–11]), closely followed by Anisakis spp. (7% [95%-CI: 6–9]). Co-infections of Pseudoterranova spp. and Anisakis spp. comprised 8% of the infections, with a positivity rate of 1% [95%-CI: 1–3%]. All belly flaps reportedly were candled prior to our sampling, nonetheless our results indicated that an additional candling screening before packaging would identify an extra third of the infections and larvae. In 19 of the 139 infected samples, all larvae were recovered by the additional candling, thereby removing the infection risk for consumers. In conclusion, this study shows that cod belly flaps infected with zoonotic parasites reach the Belgian consumer. Although a second candling step at retail level could be helpful in reducing the consumer risk, additional measures are needed since 66% of infections would still remain undetected.

10 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111399, 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, This study was carried out within PELWEB (CTM2017-88939-R) and PELCAT (CAT 152CAT00013, TAIS ARP059/19/00005) projects. [...] MEDITS data collection has been co-funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy, With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

International audience; Fish are an important food source for South Pacific (SP) island countries, yet there is little information on contamination of commercial marine fish species by plastic. The aim of our study was to perform a broad-scale assessment of plastic ingestion by fish common in the diet of SP inhabitants. We examined 932 specimens from 34 commercial fish species across four SP locations, and some of the prey they ingested, for the presence of marine plastics. Plastic was found in 33 species, with an average ingestion rate (IR) of 24.3 +/- 1.4% and plastic load of 2.4 +/- 0.2 particles per fish. Rapa Nui fish exhibited the greatest IR (50.0%), significantly greater than in other three locations. Rapa Nui is located within the SP subtropical gyre, where the concentration of marine plastics is high and food is limited. Plastic was also found in prey, which confirms the trophic transfer of microplastics.

The North Sea provides a useful model for considering forage fish within ecosystem based management as it has a complex assemblage of forage fish species. This paper is designed to encourage further debate and dialogue between stakeholders about management objectives. Changing management of fisheries on forage fish will have economic consequences for all fleets in the North Sea. The predators that arevulnerable to depletion of forage fish are sandwich terns, Great skua and common guillemots, and to a lesser extent marine mammals. Comparative evaluations of management strategies are required to consider whether maintaining reserves of prey biomass or a more integral approach of monitoring mortality rates across the trophic system, is more robust under the ecosystem approach.In terms of trophic energy transfer, stability and resilience of the ecosystem, forage fish should be considered as both a sized-based pool of biomass and as speciescomponents of the system by managers and modellers. Policy developers should not consider the knowledge base robust enough to embark on major projects of ecosystem engineering. Management plans appear able to maintain sustainable exploitation in the short term. Changes in the productivity in forage fish populations are inevitable so management should remain responsive and adaptive., JRC.G.4-Maritime affairs

The effects of the 2003 European heatwave on the sea surface layer of the Central Mediterranean were studied using a regional 3-D ocean model. The model was used to simulate the period 2000 to 2004 and its performance was validated using remotely-sensed and in situ data. Analysis of the results focused on changes in the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and on changes to the surface and sub-surface current field. This permitted us to identify and quantify the anomalies of atmospheric and sea surface parameters that accompanied the heatwave. The dominant annual cycle in each variable was first removed and a wavelet analysis then used to locate anomalies in the time-frequency domain. We found that the excess heating affecting the sea surface in the summer of 2003 was related to a significant increase in air temperature, a decrease in wind stress and reduction of all components of the upward heat flux. The monthly averages of the model SST were found to be in good agreement with remotely-sensed data during the period studied, although the ocean model tended to underestimate extreme events. The spatial distribution of SST anomalies as well as their time-frequency location was similar for both the remotely-sensed and model temperatures. We also found, on the basis of the period of the observed anomaly, that the event was not limited to the few summer months of 2003 but was part of a longer phenomenon. Both the model results and experimental data suggest the anomalous heating mainly affected the top 15 m of ocean and was associated with strong surface stratification and low mixing. The skill of the model to reproduce the sub-surface hydrographic features during the heatwave was checked by comparison with temperature and salinity measurements. This showed that the model was generally in good agreement with observations. The model and observations showed that the anomalous warming also modified the currents in the region, most noticeably the Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS) and the Atlantic Tunisian Current (ATC). The AIS was reduced in intensity and showed less meandering, mainly due to the reduced density gradient and low winds, while the ATC was enhanced in strength, the two currents appearing to modulate each other in order to conserve the total transport of Modified Atlantic Water.

Fishery Observing System (FOS) was developed as a first and basic step towards fish stock abundance nowcasting/forecasting within the framework of the EU research program Mediterranean Forecasting System: Toward an Environmental Prediction (MFSTEP). The study of the relationship between abundance and environmental parameters also represents a crucial point towards forecasting. Eight fishing vessels were progressively equipped with FOS instrumentation to collect fishery and oceanographic data. The vessels belonged to different harbours of the Central and Northern Adriatic Sea. For this pilot application, anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, L.) was chosen as the target species. Geo-referenced catch data, associated with in-situ temperature and depth, were the FOS products but other parameters were associated with catch data as well. MFSTEP numerical circulation models provide many of these data. In particular, salinity was extracted from re-analysis data of numerical circulation models. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll were also used as independent variables. Catch and effort data were used to estimate an abundance index (CPUE – Catch per Unit of Effort). Considering that catch records were gathered by different fishing vessels with different technical characteristics and operating on different fish densities, a standardized value of CPUE was calculated. A spatial and temporal average CPUE map was obtained together with a monthly mean time series in order to characterise the variability of anchovy abundance during the period of observation (October 2003–August 2005). In order to study the relationship between abundance and oceanographic parameters, Generalized Additive Models (GAM) were used. Preliminary results revealed a complex scenario: the southern sector of the domain is characterised by a stronger relationship than the central and northern sector where the interactions between the environment and the anchovy distribution are hidden by a higher percentage of variability within the system which is still unexplained. GAM analysis showed that increasing the number of explanatory variables also increased the portion of variance explained by the model. Data exchange and interdisciplinary efforts will therefore be crucial for the success of this research activity.