Dusky grouper (garoupa, Epinephelus marginatus) is an important catch for several artisanal small-scale fisheries along the Brazilian coast. It is a sedentary, monandric, and late maturing protogynous species, which makes it vulnerable to overharvesting even though it is mainly caught through hook and line or spear fishing through free diving. Lack of information on the ecology and biology of t...

The Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), a group of four islands off the north-eastern tip Africa in western Indian Ocean, has population that relies heavily on small-scale fishing for livelihoods and food security. However, reporting fisheries catches by Yemen consistently been incomplete, with artisanal (small-scale, commercial) underreported non-commercial subsistence recreational not reported at al...

The methylated form of mercury (methylmercury) is a potent neurotoxic chemical and a contaminant of concern for fisheries because of its potential effects on ecosystem and human health. In Africa, inland fisheries are a crucial component of food and economic security, yet little information is available on mercury (Hg) contamination trends. The authors compiled published data on Hg contaminatio...

Small-scale artisanal fisheries can have a significant negative impact in cetacean populations. Cetacean bycatch has been documented in the pole-and-line tuna fishery in the Azores with common dolphins being the species more frequently taken. Based on data collected by observers on ∼50% of vessels operating from 1998 to 2012, we investigate the influence of various environmental and fisheries-r...

BACKGROUND Understanding the current status of predatory fish communities, and the effects fishing has on them, is vitally important information for management. However, data are often insufficient at region-wide scales to assess the effects of extraction in coral reef ecosystems of developing nations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, I overcome this difficulty by using a publicly accessi...

The large pimelodid, Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, is one of the two most important catfish species for the fisheries in the Amazon. It is captured by commercial and artisanal fishing fleets in at least five Amazonian countries, at fishing grounds more than 5000 km apart. Current evidence suggests a complex life cycle that includes the longest reproductive migration known for a freshwater fish ...

Nineteen species of cetaceans (families Balaenopteridae, Kogiidae, Physeteridae, Ziphiidae and Delphinidae) occur in the Costa Rican Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Based on data recorded from the EEZ by the Southwest Fisheries Service Center, Cascadia Research Collective, and CIMAR between 1979-2001, we mapped the distribution of 18 cetacean species. Our results suggest that the majorit...

Conservation of marine resources is critical to the wellbeing of human communities. Coastal artisanal fishing communities are particularly reliant on marine resources for food and for their livelihoods. Management actions aimed at marine conservation may lead to unanticipated changes in human behavior that influence the ability of conservation programs to achieve their goals. We examine how mar...

Assessing the effects of fishing activity and environmental variability on species might help to understand their fluctuations manage them accordingly. However, despite increasing number studies linking fisheries data, few had a multi-species approach considering flatfish different age groups. Therefore, this study aims determine related variables commercial across regions Portuguese coast. For...