This study validated hand tong sampling as a cost-effective, quantitative alternative to "gold-standard" quadrat sampling facilitated by SCUBA diving. Side-by-side replicate sampling was conducted in six managed oyster habitat areas in Apalachicola Bay, FL, using hand tong and quadrat sampling approaches. Data were analyzed using cumulative population size distributions and conventional oyster fishery monitoring metrics. Cumulative height distributions and binned height data from all six sites demonstrated excellent agreement between quadrat and hand tong sampling approaches, with low D-statistics from Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test outputs across sampling sites, ranging from 0.06 to 0.16. Cumulative height distributions discerned from hand-tong sampling were indistinguishable from those derived from quadrat sampling at four of the six sampling sites (K-S test, P >= 0.05). Median oyster heights were statistically indistinguishable between quadrat and hand tong samples at all sites (Mann-Whitney U-test, P > 0.05). Mean oyster heights and the number of harvestable bags per acre were statistically indistinguishable between quadrat and hand tong samples at five of the six sites. Oyster counts per square meter and by size bin discerned by hand tong sampling and quadrat sampling were indistinguishable at four of the six sites. Overall, there was excellent fidelity of tong sample estimates compared with quadrat sample estimates, including detection of live oysters across size bins, when present. This study determined that standardized hand-tong sampling and quadrat sampling approaches produce functionally equivalent monitoring data. Hand tong sampling offers managers an additional tool to conduct oyster habitat assessments and monitoring under appropriate environmental conditions. Relative to quadrat sampling using SCUBA diving, hand tong sampling requires fewer trained personnel and has lower initial vessel and equipment costs, lower vessel and equipment maintenance costs, and fewer safety concerns. Together, these can facilitate the needed collection of more frequent and longer-term oyster monitoring data.

Failure of the Apalachicola Bay oyster population to recover since the 2012 fishery collapse, despite a decade of unprecedented restoration efforts and a fishery closure, indicates that the system has lost its former resilience, crossed a critical threshold between ecological steady states, and is experiencing hysteresis. This commentary contributes to the weight of evidence that reflects how accumulated system stressors led to reduced resilience and alterations in the ecological state of Apalachicola Bay. Discussion of resource exploitation, negative shell budget, salinity extremes, predator abundance, parasites, and disease underscore how these stressors accumulate over time to impact oyster populations and system resilience. Additionally, various interpretations of "resilience," "exploitation," and "restoration" have facilitated chronic resource over-exploitation and oyster habitat degradation in Apalachicola Bay. Within this context, a necessary cultural shift is described that reframes restoration and management goals to target healthy oyster habitat as the endpoint rather than using fishery metrics based on the number of harvestable oysters per acre. Failure to reframe restoration goals may be the cumulative result of resistance to accepting the presence of ecological state change, economic drivers overshadowing the weight of evidence, and outcomes not directly impacting decision makers.

Failure of the Apalachicola Bay oyster population to recover since the 2012 fishery collapse, despite a decade of unprecedented restoration efforts and a fishery closure, indicates that the system has lost its former resilience, crossed a critical threshold between ecological steady states, and is experiencing hysteresis. This commentary contributes to the weight of evidence that reflects how accumulated system stressors led to reduced resilience and alterations in the ecological state of Apalachicola Bay. Discussion of resource exploitation, negative shell budget, salinity extremes, predator abundance, parasites, and disease underscore how these stressors accumulate over time to impact oyster populations and system resilience. Additionally, various interpretations of "resilience," "exploitation," and "restoration" have facilitated chronic resource over-exploitation and oyster habitat degradation in Apalachicola Bay. Within this context, a necessary cultural shift is described that reframes restoration and management goals to target healthy oyster habitat as the endpoint rather than using fishery metrics based on the number of harvestable oysters per acre. Failure to reframe restoration goals may be the cumulative result of resistance to accepting the presence of ecological state change, economic drivers overshadowing the weight of evidence, and outcomes not directly impacting decision makers.

Objectives. Lower back pain (LBP) is extremely prevalent in seafood harvesters who often have limited or no access to ergonomic consultation, occupational health support and rehabilitation services. This pilot study aimed to describe a participatory ergonomic approach and determine the feasibility and extent of adoption of self-management strategies in clam farmers with LBP. Methods. A rapid prototype participatory ergonomic approach was used to develop context-specific self-management strategies. Options to adjust lifting and repetitive stress were introduced using video clips, demonstrations and discussions in the workplace. Workers chose and implemented three strategies for 8 weeks with weekly reminders. Survey and qualitative data from focus groups were analyzed. Results. Team strategies were the most popular, but individual options were used more often. Strategies were considered feasible, acceptable and relatively easy to use. Strategies were implemented relatively consistently, and most improved productivity with decreased pain. Challenges for uptake included changing habit, culture and team dynamics. Conclusions. Participatory rapid prototyping provided a feasible and efficient option to introduce strategies for clam farmers with small teams, variable work processes and workloads, and time restrictions. Strategies were considered acceptable and easy to use, and most increased productivity. These methods show potential for future research.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-production sector and is vital to food security, habitat restoration and endangered species conservation. One of the continued challenges to the industry is our ability to manage aquatic disease agents that can rapidly decimate operations and are a constant threat to sustainability. Such threats also evolve as microbes acquire resistance and/or new pathogens emerge. The advent of nanotechnology has transformed our approach to fisheries disease management with advances in water disinfection, food conversion, fish health and management systems. In this review, several nano-enabled technology successes will be discussed as they relate to the challenges associated with disease management in the aquaculture sector, with a particular focus on fishes. Future perspectives on how nanotechnology can offer functional approaches for improving disinfection and innovating at the practical space of early warning systems will be discussed. Finally, the importance of "safety by design" approaches to the development of novel commercial nano-enabled products will be emphasized.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Participatory ergonomics engages workers in the development of strategies to reduce workplace-related pain, offering a flexible and practical option to create individualized context-specific strategies. This paper describes the outcomes of a feasibility study using a participatory approach for self-management of low back pain in clam farmers. Methods: A within-subject time-control design with repeated baseline and post-intervention assessment was used. After refining individual and team-based strategies, stakeholder interviews, and rapid prototyping, workers selected three strategies to use for 8 weeks. Frequency and ease of use for strategies are described. Pre-post paired t-tests were used for analysis of pain-related disability, difficulty and pain with work tasks, pain-related fear, self-efficacy, and coping. Analysis of improvements exceeding published and individual variability was calculated. Results: Participants chose both team and individual strategies, most using strategies 5 days a week >50% of the time. Significant improvements in pain-related disability, pain during specific tasks, pain-related anxiety, and coping were seen after 8 weeks of implementing strategies. No changes in task difficulty, fear, self-efficacy and average resting pain were reported. Pain improvements > MDC95 were reported by 74% with 56–64% > personalized MDC95 for lifting tasks. Conclusions: Pain-related disability, work activity pain ratings and related pain anxiety and coping improved beyond individual variability in this feasibility study. Multiple strategies allowed workers to choose relevant self-management options. Introduction of work-related changes in the workplace, visual demonstration, review of team videos and reminders were helpful. Further studies of this approach are needed.

Background. Estimates for fish and shellfish intake are used to inform communities and healthcare systems about potential health risks and benefits for individuals, communities, and vulnerable populations. A dietary assessment instrument was designed for use in populations of high-end consumers of seafood to examine intake of finfish, shrimp, oysters, and blue crab in coastal communities across the Gulf of Mexico. Objective. To validate the reliability of a novel food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for seafood intake. Design. Test-retest reliability of the FFQ, which included a species-specific photographic portion guide, was evaluated by the inperson administration and readministration of the instrument with each participant by the same interviewer. Responses from coastal and noncoastal participants were compared to discern FFQ reliability in heterogeneous samples. Participants/setting. A convenience sample of 27 coastal participants from Cedar Key, Steinhatchee, and Apalachicola, Florida, reported data for 101 household members; and 15 noncoastal participants from Gainesville, Florida, reported for 42 household members. Analysis. Repeated measures from the FFQ were evaluated using correlation concordance for continuous variables (age, weight, and height) and kappa coefficient for categorical variables (type, amount, and frequency of seafood consumed). Results. Concordance correlation coefficient (1.00) and kappa coefficient (r = 0.73 to 1.00) for yearly and seasonal seafood consumption indicated substantial to almost perfect reproducibility, i.e., participants provided responses that were reproducible. Test-retest agreement was highest for coastal participants who consumed more seafood, as compared to occasional, noncoastal consumers, based on the intergroup comparison of kappa coefficients for yearly and seasonal seafood consumption (r = 0.69 to 0.99). Conclusions. The seafood FFQ instrument evaluated in this study, included as a supplement to this report, used in tandem with a photographic portion guide, provides a utilitarian tool for assessing fish, shrimp, oyster, and blue crab intake dynamics in adult and youth populations drawn from coastal communities.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (April 20, 2010) caused concern regarding Gulf seafood safety. Communities were skeptical of governmental risk assessments because they did not take into account the higher consumption of seafood along coastal areas. The objective of this study was to perform a probabilistic risk assessment based on the consumption rates of high-end consumers of Gulf seafood. We utilized seafood consumption data from five communities across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. This study collected finfish, shrimp, blue crab, and oysters from these communities and analyzed their tissues for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A probabilistic risk assessment was performed using population-specific seafood consumption rates and body weights for commercial fishers, recreational fishers, and a Filipino-American community. For non-cancer effects, 95th percentile hazard quotients for these targeted populations ranged between 1.84E−04 to 5.39E−03 for individual seafood types. The 95th percentile hazard indices for total seafood consumption ranged from 3.45E−03 to 8.41E−03. Based on total seafood consumption, highest hazard indices were modeled for the Filipino-American community followed by commercial and recreational fishers. Despite higher consumption rates, hazard indices for the high-end consumers targeted in this study were two to three orders of magnitude below the regulatory limit of 1.

Shoaling and social behaviors of Fundulus heteroclitus (mummichog, an estuarine killifish) were observed in response to harmful algal bloom (HAB) neurotoxin exposures. Six replicate groups of 5 fish were videographed pre-exposure, during a sublethal 2-h exposure to brevetoxin, PbTx-2 (PbTx, 40 and 55 ppb) or saxitoxin (STX,100 and 150 ppb) at the beginning (T-0-(30min)) and at the end (T-90(-120 min)) of the exposure period, and during recovery, 24-h post-exposure. Fish shoaling and social behaviors, including nearest neighbor angle (NNA) and nearest neighbor distance (NND) between fish, solitary and sedentary time, and number of conspecific interactions, were quantified and analyzed using customized software. There was no difference in shoaling behavior outcomes between the PbTx or STX "high" and "low" concentrations within observation times (p > .26). Exposure and post-exposure group outcomes were compared to pre-exposure (baseline) observations using repeated measures. PbTx- and STX-exposed fish showed altered shoaling behaviors during- and post-exposure, compared to preexposure baseline observations. PbTx-exposed fish showed heightened shoaling dynamics during early exposure observations (To-so), where shoaling time increased (p < .01), NND decreased (p < .05), and the number of conspecific interactions increased (p < .10). In contrast, STX-exposed fish showed suppressed shoaling dynamics during late exposure observations (T-90(-120 min)), where shoaling time decreased (p < .10), NND and NNA increased (p < .05), and the number of conspecific interactions decreased (p < .05). Recovery observations taken 24-h after PbTx- and STX-exposure, revealed groups of fish with suppressed shoaling dynamics including reduced group cohesiveness. Groups of fish post-exposure spent less time shoaling (p < .05) with greater NND (p < .10) and fewer conspecific interactions (p < .10). STX-exposed fish also had greater NNA (p < .01). PbTx-exposed fish spent more time sedentary while remaining in groups (p < .05) and more time solitary (p < .05). Results indicate that exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of PbTx and STX have demonstrable effects on mummichog shoaling and group behaviors. Behavioral responses observed during HAB toxin exposure may be associated with the excitatory action of PbTx and the paralytic effects of STX. Post-exposure outcomes indicate impacted shoaling dynamics and group behaviors. Such changes are associated with reduced foraging capacity and predator vigilance, thus facilitating toxin trophic transfer, and ultimately decreasing survival for exposed killifish.

1. Background: Fishers face many occupational hazards that include a high risk of fatal and nonfatal injuries and a variety of adverse health effects. Our purpose is to provide an overview of potential countermeasures for the control of hazards that threaten the health and safety of Gulf of Mexico (GoM) fish harvesters. 2. Method: Search terms were used to identify relevant literature; two previous reviews regarding injuries and health risk factors also inform this review. 3. Results: Countermeasures against these hazards include winch guards, lifting devices, job redesign, non-slip decks and vessel stability controls as well as using personal flotation devices, wearing gloves and high-friction footwear, increasing sleep time and using vessel motion to assist lifting. Knowledge about secondary prevention (such as rescue, first aid and making mayday calls) is also important. Learning through experience is a crucial factor that incorporates other fishers' experiences with innovations. Fatigue and lack of sleep contribute to vessel disasters and injury-related errors. 4. Conclusions: The prevention of injuries and diseases among GoM fishers depends on a combination of focusing on work-processes, instilling a broader safety culture, engineering controls, identifying and sharing fisher innovations, promoting fall overboard prevention and protection and providing culture-based incentives, training and narrative outreach.

During 2000–2009, 116 Gulf of Mexico (GoM) fishers were killed (23% of the US total) while working in the shrimp, finfish, oyster, clam, and crab fisheries. The purpose of this literature review is to identify injury-related risk factors to better assess the frequency and severity of injuries experienced by fish harvesters in the GoM. Methods: The method of this study is a comprehensive narrative literature review of findings useful for the prevention of fatal and non-fatal injuries among GoM fish harvesters published since 2005. Search engine terms were used to identify relevant literature that included fatalities, injuries, fatigue, and several other terms in combination (e.g., string search with “fishing”). Results: We reviewed 48 articles; the most common cause of fish harvester deaths in the GoM is falls overboard with scant use of personal flotation devices and vessel disasters in which flooding and collision were the most lethal. The root cause of errors resulting in many disasters may have been operator fatigue, but fatigue is also an adverse health effect resulting from working conditions. Non-fatal injuries arise from multiple sources that include working with gears, slips and trips, struck-by or against objects, machine or line entanglements, and falls. Conclusion: Principal risk factors are a lack of sleep aboard fishing vessels, vessel flooding and collisions, poor weather, slips on deck, contact with gear, not wearing personal flotation devices, poor swimming ability, and fishing alone on a vessel or the deck.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that phthalate plasticizers may act as "obesogens", which are chemicals that exacerbate obesity. The gastrointestinal (GI) system is the primary exposure route for phthalates, however, the relationship between phthalate-driven perturbations of GI system functions that can influence obesity has yet to be examined. To address this knowledge gap, we exposed Danio rerio (zebrafish) for 60 days to either (1) Control feeding (5 mg/fish/day), (2) Overfeeding (20 mg/fish/day) or (3) Overfeeding with diethyl-hexyl phthalate (DEHP) (20 mg/fish/day with 3 mg/kg DEHP). After 60 days, Overfed and Overfed + DEHP zebrafish had elevated body mass, and hepatosomatic and gonadosomatic indices. RNAseq analysis of the GI revealed enrichment of gene networks related to lipid metabolism in the Overfed + DEHP group. Many of the enriched networks were under transcriptional control of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (pparα), a known modulator of lipid metabolism, immune function, and GI function. Real-time PCR confirmed that pparα was overexpressed in the Overfed + DEHP zebrafish, further revealing a pathway by which DEHP may influence lipid metabolism via the GI. These data increase our understanding of phthalate-driven effects on GI function and lipid metabolism, identifying gut-specific gene networks that may drive phthalate-exacerbated obesity.

The purpose of this literature review, the second in a series following one on traumatic injuries and fatigue, is to identify potential health hazards to inform a study of occupational health and safety among fish harvesters in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Fish harvesters are potentially at a high risk of occupational illnesses in GoM fisheries. GoM fishers engage in harvesting shrimp, finfish, oysters, crabs, and clams. Method: The method is a narrative literature review. Search terms that included safety, seafood, occupational, fishing, oyster, clam, shrimp, crab, and GoM were used to identify relevant literature in combination (i.e., a string search). Results: A total of 53 manuscripts were reviewed, of which only two regarded the GoM, but 19 were from the US Atlantic Coast. Musculoskeletal disorders are widespread across the fishing sector. Other hazards include bites and stings from aquatic animals (some of which may be life-threatening), vessel engine noise, dermatoses, and other skin afflictions (including possible strep infection of wounds), solar ray-induced eye diseases, and respiratory exposures (such as to protein aerosols) that can cause asthma. Diving poses multiple breathing and other hazards. Conclusion: While fish harvesters are protected from respiratory problems when working on the well-ventilated deck and dermal hazards by wearing gloves, musculoskeletal, bite and sting, ocular, engine-related hearing loss, and skin, lip, and eye cancer hazards are potentially serious risks among GoM fish harvesters.

Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, concerns were raised regarding exposure of fish to crude oil components, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This three year study examined hepatic enzymes in post-mitochondrial supernatant fractions from red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) collected in the north central Gulf of Mexico between 2011 and 2014. Biomarker activities evaluated included benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase (AHH), ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione transferase (GST), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Mean EROD activity was higher in gray triggerfish (12.97 ± 7.15 pmol/min/mg protein [mean ± SD], n = 115) than red snapper (2.75 ± 1.92 pmol/min/mg protein, n = 194), p < 0.0001. In both species, EROD declined over time between 2011 and 2014. Declines in GST and GPx activities were also noted over this time period for both species. Gray triggerfish liver was fatty, and heptane extracts of the liver fat contained fluorescent substances with properties similar to known PAHs, however the origin of these PAHs is unknown.

OBJECTIVE:To validate a novel photographic portion guide as a tool to estimate consumption of fish and shrimp. Application of such a validated tool can facilitate accurate individual and community seafood intake assessments and provide meaningful data relative to health benefits and hazard assessment, particularly in response to environmental contamination and disasters. DESIGN:A photographic fish and shrimp portion guide presenting a stepped range of cooked portion sizes was used by participants to estimate their typical portion sizes. Participants selected their typical portion size from the photographic guide and also from a selection of freshly cooked reference meals. Photographic portions selections were compared with plated reference portions for each participant. SETTING:Academic sensory testing laboratory in the USA. SUBJECTS:Separate groups of adults (25-64 years) contributed to fish (n 54) and shrimp (n 53) portion size comparison studies. RESULTS:In the fish study, there was no difference between photographic portion selections (6·59 (sd 2·65) oz (186·8 (sd 75·1) g)) and reference plate selections (7·04 (sd 2·63) oz (199·6 (sd 74·6) g); P=0·384). Similarly in the shrimp study, there was no difference between photographic portion selections (6·88 (sd 3·40) oz (195·0 (sd 96·4) g)) and reference plate selections (6·06 (sd 2·65) oz (171·8 (sd 75·1) g); P=0·159). Photographic portions predicted plated reference portions for both fish and shrimp based on linear regression (P<0·001). Bland-Altman plot analyses showed good agreement between the two methods, <1 oz (<28·3 g) bias, in both fish and shrimp studies. CONCLUSIONS:This validated photographic seafood portion guide provides a utilitarian tool for accurately assessing fish and shrimp intake in a community setting.

Many researchers have studied the oxytetracycline (OTC) pharmacokinetic profile following oral administration in multiple aquatic animal species including shrimp[1-5], sea turtles[6], and fish[7-11], However, Rigos & Smith[12], described the void of data in the literature showing a clinical effect of OTC in fish that could be directly predicted, correlated, or assessed from OTC concentrations in the blood. OTC is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an oral antibacterial to treat many bacterial infections in terrestrial animals and humans. It is also approved under the trade name, Terramycin® 200 for Fish (Phibro Animal Health) to treat specific diseases in salmonids, catfish, and lobster[13] (Table 1).