In fisheries, greenhouse gas accounting has largely focused on fuel use during resource extraction. Beyond its climate impact, fuel use affects the economic viability of the fishing industry and its capacity to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate change. Understanding fuel use and efficiency is critical to the long-term sustainability of fisheries and should inform the UK’s climate mitigation roadmap. Fuel use estimates and relevant indicators are available for a limited number of species and gear types, calculated using different methods. This study addresses the availability and granularity of fleet-wide fuel metrics, using the UK as a case study. Using primary data on days at sea, engine power, and fuel use to estimate fleet-wide fuel use, this study provides fuel use estimates for 78% of UK-caught wild-capture seafood and conducts a Fuel Use Intensity (Litres/Tonne) and Fuel Cost Intensity (£fuel/£revenue) analysis of UK fishing vessels. This study finds that the UK pelagic fleet burns the most fuel per active vessel annually. Some beam trawl fleets have the highest Fuel Use Intensity and Fuel Cost Intensity. Species typically caught by beam trawlers have a higher weighted Fuel Use Intensity, yet species targeted by fleets with lower Fuel Use Intensity are still vulnerable to economic and policy impacts relating to fossil fuels and fuel use due to their dependence on fossil fuels and total annual fuel use. Climate mitigation cannot single out gear types or species; it must use multiple strategies tailored to each fleet's needs to reduce emissions.

Common whelk is a neo-gastropod that is intensively fished on the west and east temperate Atlantic with baited pots. The UK hosts the largest Whelk fishery contributing 10–15

ABSTRACT The scallop fishing sector is central to UK fisheries. Traditional dredging with Newhaven dredges poses ecological risks, creating pressure to adopt more sustainable practices. This study assessed the catch and environmental outcomes of modified scallop dredge designs aimed at reducing environmental impact without compromising catch efficiency. Four gear designs were tested: (1) N‐Viro dredge with conventional belly bag, (2) N‐Viro dredge with skid belly bag, (3) Newhaven dredge with skid belly bag, compared to the (4) standard Newhaven dredge with conventional belly bag. Results showed that the N‐Viro dredge alone did not increase catches of market‐sized king scallops (Pecten maximus); however, pairing it with a skid belly bag improved catches by 14%–19%. The N‐Viro dredge reduced undersized scallop catch by 42% and stones by 67%, with further reductions when combined with a skid belly bag. Bycatch levels remained unchanged. Fuel consumption fell by 30% with N‐Viro dredges, equating to annual CO2 reductions of 164,571 kg CO2‐e/year for vessels over 15 m and 37,235 kg CO2‐e/year for vessels under 15 m, alongside annual fuel cost savings of £46,250 and £10,465, respectively. Seabed impact assessment indicated that skid belly bags reduced gear footprint by 55%, with the lowest impact from the N‐Viro dredge with skid belly bag. These findings demonstrate that combining N‐Viro dredges with skid belly bags can substantially cut environmental impacts and emissions while maintaining catch efficiency, offering a promising pathway towards more sustainable scallop dredging in UK waters.

Abstract Globally, small-scale fishing communities are impacted by plastic debris accumulating in coastal waters. We studied the socioeconomic impact of marine plastic on fishers in the Mekong and Red River Deltas. Using a mixed methods design, we quantified the impacts of marine plastics through socioeconomic structured interviews with nearshore fishers (n = 199), post-hoc verification interviews (n = 94) and waste audits of debris in fishing nets (n = 282). The total cost of plastic pollution was calculated as ~3400 USD vessel-1 year-1, equivalent to 12% of the annual vessel revenue and 25% of the owner’s income. Fishers also experienced injuries and fatalities when dealing with plastic entanglement incidents at sea. Results highlighted a disproportionate and unequitable higher economic burden faced by lower-income fishers in the Mekong Delta compared to the Red River Delta. Our study found that incentive-based plastic collection at priority locations could reduce pollution while supporting sustainable livelihoods.

Marine sediments are a significant sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2)1. Bottom trawl fisheries constitute the most widespread physical disturbance to carbon-rich seabed habitats2. Recent research has sparked concern that this disturbance can turn marine sediments into a large source of CO23, but this is subject to ongoing debate4,5,6. Uncertainties exist regarding the effect of bottom trawling on carbon sequestration, remineralisation, and storage. To address this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature to assemble a comprehensive, up-to-date database looking at how demersal mobile fishing affects: (i) the amount and type of carbon found in benthic sediments; (iii) the geochemical, biological, and physical parameters which control the fate of benthic carbon; (iii) the magnitude and direction of benthic-pelagic carbon fluxes; and (iv) the geochemical, biological, and physical parameters which control the fate of resuspended carbon. Here we present methodological details alongside preliminary findings of the resultant meta-analysis. We highlight the parameters which carry the greatest and least uncertainties and suggest key knowledge gaps to help target future field and laboratory studies to help better constrain the effect of bottom trawling on the benthic-pelagic carbon fluxes and processing.1. Atwood et al., 2020. Global patterns in marine sediment carbon stocks. Frontiers in Marine Science; 2. Hiddink et al., 2017. Global analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota after bottom trawling disturbance. PNAS; 3. Sala et al., 2021. Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate. Nature; 4. Hilborn and Kaiser, 2022. A path forward for analysing the impacts of marine protected areas. Nature; 5. Hiddink et al., 2023. Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling. Nature; 6. Atwood et al., 2023. Reply to: Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling. Nature.

Microplastics (MiPs) pose a significant environmental threat due to their persistence and potential toxicity to biota that interact with or ingest them. Accurate assessment of MiP concentrations in aquatic systems is critical for understanding their distribution and impacts. This study develops the MiPCS Pump (Microplastic Collector System), an innovative pump-based sampling system integrating 80 μm mesh plankton nets. The system was tested against traditional net-based methods (manta and Apstein nets) in the Red River Delta and Cat Ba Archipelago, Vietnam. This innovative design features a suction basket excluding large particles (>5 mm), a mixing chamber and 5-way splitter for uniform distribution, and precise flow control (via flow metering) to five phytoplankton nets, ensuring accurate and simultaneous multi-sample collection. This advanced system provided more consistent and precise results, sampling a broader spectrum of MiP sizes, and enabling sampling across a variety of water depths and environmental conditions. Quantitatively, MiPCS Pump yielded significantly higher MiP concentrations (2.95-7.80 mg m-3 and 16.25-114.58 particles m-3) compared to the net methods (1.59-3.27 mg m-3 and 0.78-26.62 particles m-3). Although nets are effective for larger surface MiPs (mesoplastics) there is a lack of understanding of MiP catchability in nets, whereas the MiPCS Pump offers precise volume measurement, adaptability to various depths, and captures a broader size range, making it a more comprehensive method for assessing MiP pollution. This MiPCS Pump system is crucial for ensuring accurate and comparable data for global MiP monitoring and the development of effective plastic waste management policies.

The restoration of blue carbon ecosystems is becoming increasingly recognised as a potentially important tool towards sustainable development because of their capacity to store carbon. However, the spatial and temporal variability of organic carbon storage is high, and the drivers regulating that variability remain poorly defined. This makes it difficult to plan habitat restoration with blue carbon objectives. Here, we quantified spatial and temporal variability of carbon storage in mangrove forests in northern Vietnam, comparing between old-growth forests, forests that have spontaneously naturally regenerated, and areas of intentional restoration. We found that sedimentation rates have increased over the past 25-50 years, but this did not translate to a general increase in carbon accumulation, suggesting a decrease in carbon burial efficiency. An exception was higher carbon burial in the restored mangrove area since the 1960s, followed by a decline since the 1990s. Microalgae were a consistent source (more than 50%) of the buried organic carbon, except in the post-1960 restored mangrove sediments - where the majority of the carbon originated from the mangroves and estuarine particulates. This suggests a shift in ecological structure towards a 'closed loop' of carbon recycling. Carbon burial spatial and temporal dynamics were well aligned to coastal land-use change, upstream dam construction and dry-wet climatic variability. These results suggest that both old-growth and restored mangrove forests are important carbon stores. Importantly, we show that mangrove re-establishment can have positive effects on carbon storage - supporting the application of habitat restoration for blue carbon-based sustainable development. However, this benefit can be transient if environmental conditions (because of natural or human factors) do not facilitate the development of 'normal' ecological functioning, emphasising the need for a holistic approach towards multiple conservation objectives.

In coastal Vietnam, everyday lives and production processes are entwined with the seasonal rhythms and movement of plastics in waterways. This article explores how aquaculture farmers and fishers interpret encounters with aquatic plastics, and how their perceptions of these objects' spatial and temporal origins offer insights into their own discard practices. Through their repetitive movement, plastics become objects of 'non-belonging' and 'out of time', thus enabling a perception of incrementing relational, spatial, and temporal distance between the observer and the object. We argue that while the movement of plastics appears to connect different people, places, things, and times, plastics are perceived as objects of disconnect and blame, especially in the context of production where they impact economic activities and labor schedules, and their origin is traced to 'outsiders'.

A Lagrangian-particle tracking model, Delft3D-PART, combined with hydrodynamics models are used to investigate the fate and transport of buoyant plastics from Ba Lat river mouth in Red River Delta, northern Vietnam. It was found that during the dry season (Dec-Feb), 23 % (26.43 ton) of the plastics reached the shoreline while 76.1 % (68.3 ton) moved towards the coast further south of Red River Delta. During the wet season (Jun-Aug), 42 % (56.3 ton) were transported offshore away from the coast and 20 % (26.43 ton) distributed along the shore. The two bays adjacent to the river mouth are major hotspots with the intensity skewed towards the upwind side relative to the seasonal monsoon. This phenomenon is exacerbated by storm events which reverse the typical transport and lead to formation of hotspots at the upwind side of the plastic source. Guidance of model results for targeted cleanup operations is discussed.

Identifying the factors that influence the citation of articles helps authors improve the impact and reach of their research. Analysis of publications in the Journal of Fish Biology between 2008 and 2021 revealed that variables such as the number of keywords, abstract length, number of authors, and page length were associated with higher impact papers. These trends applied to both review and regular papers. These findings suggest that papers that are more informative, have higher numbers of authors, and have more keywords are more likely to be cited. Adoption of some simple "best-practice" behaviors can improve the likelihood that a paper is cited.

Global scallop fisheries are economically important but are associated with environmental impacts to seabed communities resulting from the direct physical contact of the fishing gear with the seabed. Gear modifications attempting to reduce this contact must be economically feasible such that the catch numbers for the target species is maintained or increased. This study investigated the outcome of reducing seabed contact on retained catch of scallops and bycatch by the addition of skids to the bottom of the collecting bag of scallop dredges. We used a paired control experimental design to investigate the impact of the gear modification in different habitat types. The modified skid dredge generally caught more marketable scallops per unit area fished compared with the standard dredge (+5%). However, the skid dredge also retained more bycatch (+11%) and more undersize scallops (+16%). The performance of the two dredges was habitat specific which indicates the importance of adjusting management measures in relation to habitat type. To realize the potential environmental benefits associated with the improvement in catchability of this gear modification, further gear modification is required to reduce the catch of undersize scallops and bycatch. Furthermore we advocate that technical gear innovations in scallop dredging need to be part of a comprehensive and effective fisheries management system.

Abstract Background Marine sediments represent one of the planet’s largest carbon stores. Bottom trawl fisheries constitute the most widespread physical disturbance to seabed habitats, which exert a large influence over the oceanic carbon dioxide (CO2) sink. Recent research has sparked concern that seabed disturbance from trawling can therefore turn marine sediments into a large source of CO2, but the calculations involved carry a high degree of uncertainty. This is primarily due to a lack of quantitative understanding of how trawling mixes and resuspends sediments, how it alters bioturbation, bioirrigation, and oxygenation rates, and how these processes translate into carbon fluxes into or out of sediments. Methods The primary question addressed by this review protocol is: how does mobile bottom fishing affect benthic carbon processing and storage? This question will be split into the following secondary questions: what is the effect of mobile bottom fishing on: (i) the amount and type of carbon found in benthic sediments; (ii) the magnitude and direction of benthic-pelagic carbon fluxes; (iii) the biogeochemical, biological, and physical parameters that control the fate of benthic carbon; and (iv) the biogeochemical, biological, and physical parameters that control the fate of resuspended carbon. Literature searches will be conducted in Web of Science, SCOPUS, PROQUEST, and a range of grey and specialist sources. An initial scoping search in Web of Science informed the final search string, which has been formulated according to Population Intervention Comparator Outcome (PICO) principles. Eligible studies must contain data concerning a change in a population of interest caused by mobile bottom fishing. Eligible study designs are Before and After, Control and Impact, and Gradient studies. Studies included at full-text screening will be critically appraised, and study findings will be extracted.Extracted data will be stored in an Excel spreadsheet. Results will be reported in narrative and quantitative syntheses using a variety of visual tools including forest plots. Meta-analysis will be conducted where sufficient data exists.

Wild capture fisheries are of economic and social importance, providing a primary source of protein to people globally. There is a broad research base on the environmental impacts of fishing gears and processing methods yet, the impact on the global CO2 budget is less well studied. Evaluating the risk that wild capture fisheries pose to ecosystem health is vital to sustainably managing fishing practices to meet increasing global nutritional needs and reverse declines in marine biodiversity. At the same time meeting net-zero ambitions by reducing direct and indirect GHG emissions is vital. Ecological risk assessments, trait-based assessments, and vulnerability assessments have long supported fisheries management systems globally but do not yet provide any representation regarding the impacts that fishing gears have on the ability of the habitat to capture and store carbon. Considering the importance of accessibility and transparency in approaches necessary for fisheries sustainability certifications, this paper describes a method to integrate habitat carbon capacity attributes into the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Consequence and Spatial Analysis (CSA) framework. Applying the CSA carbon extension developed herein produces different CSA risk scores compared to the MSC CSA that does not account for carbon. This has potential consequences for certification schemes as carbon becomes more important in the fisheries sustainability conversation. The CSA carbon extension tool developed here is an important first step in incorporating carbon indicators into evaluations of fisheries that consider fishery carbon impacts.

We reflect on the innovation process that led to the development of the pulse trawl that was successfully trialed at a commercial scale, but eventually ended with the European Parliament passing legislation to ban its use. The ban was imposed despite published and emerging evidence that suggested that the environmental performance and catch efficiency of the pulse trawl was superior to the conventional beam trawl design. We used a stakeholder questionnaire to understand which factors undermined wider acceptance of the pulse trawl. The main factors where a lack of involvement of certain key stakeholders earlier in the process that would have ensured better co-development of innovation and a shared vision of the environmental or governance questions that needed to be addressed. Although the stakeholder process itself was seen to be positive, it was implemented too late in the innovation process, as was the implementation of an independent peer review process. We conclude by identifying a pathway for future fishing gear innovation processes that integrate the lessons learnt from the pulse trawl innovation process.

Mobile bottom contact gear such as trawls is widely considered to have the highest environmental impact of commonly used fishing gears, with concern about impact on benthic communities, bycatch, and carbon footprint frequently highlighted as much higher than other forms of fishing. As a result, the use of such gears has been banned or severely restricted in some countries, and there are many proposals to implement such restrictions elsewhere. In this paper, we review the sustainability of bottom trawling with respect to target-species sustainability, impact on benthic communities, bycatch and discards, carbon footprint from fuel use, and impact on carbon sequestration. We compare the impact to other forms of fishing and other food production systems. We show that bottom-trawl and dredge fisheries have been sustained, and where well managed, stocks are increasing. Benthic sedimentary habitats remain in good condition where fishing pressure is well managed and where VME and species of concern can be protected by spatial management. Bycatch is intrinsically high because of the mixed-species nature of benthic communities. The carbon footprint is on average higher than chicken or pork, but much less than beef, and can be much lower than chicken or pork. The impact on carbon sequestration remains highly uncertain. Overall, the concerns about trawling impacts can be significantly mitigated when existing technical gear and management measures (e.g. gear design changes and spatial controls) are adopted by industry and regulatory bodies and the race-to-fish eliminated. When these management measures are implemented, it appears that bottom trawling would have a lower environmental impact than livestock or fed aquaculture, which would likely replace trawl-caught fish if trawling was banned. A total of 83 bottom-trawl fisheries are currently certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, which is the most widely accepted measure of overall sustainability.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are powerful instruments to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, if supported by an effective management structure. In Brazil, no-take and multiple-use MPAs have advisory councils that allow co-management as an important strategy to deal with conservation challenges, mainly in urbanized coastal areas. However, the profile of members and their perceptions regarding advisory council challenges remain poorly known. Here, we assessed the advisory management councils of the largest network of MPAs in the South Western Atlantic, situated next to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Seven MPA advisory councils were initially characterized through consultation with the MPA managers, followed by interviews with each advisory council member. We found that advisory council members were mostly agents of the local government, university scientists, members of local associations, and employees of non-governmental organizations. Compared with no-take MPAs, multiple-use MPAs tended to have greater diversity of member profiles in terms of institutional affiliation, gender, training level and age group. Although the majority of respondents considered the advisory councils an effective management tool, almost 30% of the interviewees did not recognize this mechanism as efficient, and the perceived capacity for advisory councils to respond to challenges was lower in no-take MPAs. This perception was attributed to a lack of complete actor inclusivity and the low decision-making power of advisory councils. There was a general agreement that no-take MPA advisory councils in particular are not achieving their sustainability goals and have progressed less than multiple-use MPAs in terms of co-management. To overcome this, we provide a series of recommendations to improve stakeholder participation and co-management of MPA operation.

Objective: This scoping review (ScR) aims to identify and map the evidence base on the contribution of area-based fisheries management measures (ABFMs) to fisheries sustainability and marine conservation. Emphasis will be given to the research that has been conducted in terms of the methodologies applied and the key findings acknowledged.Introduction: ABFMs have been used for centuries and are present in modern fisheries management plans and regulations. Although ABFMs are commonly related to the sustainable exploitation of the target species of the managed fishery, they may also be considered as wider conservation measures, in the cases where their outcomes include the protection or reduction of impact on biodiversity or ecosystem structures and functions.Inclusion criteria: Studies that perform an assessment of the contribution of ABFMs on either fisheries sustainability or on area-based marine conservation (or both) will be considered. All types of ABFMs in the marine realm globally, which are established as management measures by any type of designation authority or jurisdiction and for any type of fishing activity, gear, target species and/or habitats will be considered. Peer-reviewed and grey literature will be included. There will be no search limitations applied by year of publication. Studies in English, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Swedish will be reviewed.Methods: The ScR will be conducted in accordance with the JBI (Joanna Briggs Institute) methodology. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) extension for ScRs will guide the protocol. The bibliographic databases to be searched include Scopus and Web of Science. Sources of grey literature will include databases, pre-print archives, organisational websites and web-based search engines. The design of the search strategy will be guided by a librarian/ information specialist. The Zotero software, Sysrev platform and EviAtlas tool will be used for data management, extraction and presentation. Data will be extracted by two reviewers. Tables, graphs and maps along with a narrative summary of the outcomes will be presented.

Apex and mesopredators such as elasmobranchs are important for maintaining ocean health and are the focus of conservation efforts to mitigate exposure to fishing and other anthropogenic hazards. Quantifying fishing mortality components such as at-vessel mortality (AVM) is necessary for effective bycatch management. We assembled a database for 61 elasmobranch species and conducted a global meta-synthesis to estimate pelagic longline AVM rates. Evolutionary history was a significant predictor of AVM, accounting for up to 13% of variance in Bayesian phylogenetic meta-regression models for Lamniformes and Carcharhiniformes clades. Phylogenetically related species may have a high degree of shared traits that explain AVM. Model-estimated posterior mean AVM rates ranged from 5% (95% HDI 0.1%-16%) for pelagic stingrays and 76% (95% HDI 49%-90%) for salmon sharks. Measures that reduce catch, and hence AVM levels, such as input controls, bycatch quotas and gear technology to increase selectivity are appropriate for species with higher AVM rates. In addition to reducing catchability, handling-and-release practices and interventions such as retention bans in shark sanctuaries and bans on shark finning and trade hold promise for species with lower AVM rates. Robust, and where applicable, phylogenetically-adjusted elasmobranch AVM rates are essential for evidence-informed bycatch policy.