Small pelagic fishes are used for human consumption, fishmeal and fish oil. They constitute 25% of global fish catch and have been of considerable conservation concern because of their intermediate position in aquatic food webs, often being a dominant dietary component of marine predators. This paper provides an overview of trends in abundance and fishing pressure on small pelagic fish stocks from single‐species scientific ass...

We review the status of groundfish stocks using published scientific assessments for 349 individual stocks constituting 90% of global groundfish catch. Overall, average stock abundance is increasing and is currently above the level that would produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Fishing pressure for cod‐like fishes (Gadiformes) and flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) was, for several decades, on average well above levels associ...

Bottom‐contact fishing gears are globally the most widespread anthropogenic sources of direct disturbance to the seabed and associated biota. Managing these fishing disturbances requires quantification of gear impacts on biota and the rate of recovery following disturbance. We undertook a systematic review and meta‐analysis of 122 experiments on the effects‐of‐bottom fishing to quantify the removal of benthos in the path of th...

Management and technical approaches that achieve a sustainable level of fish production while at the same time minimizing or limiting the wider ecological effects caused through fishing gear contact with the seabed might be considered to be ‘best practice’. To identify future knowledge‐needs that would help to support a transition towards the adoption of best practices for trawling, a prioritization exercise was undertaken wit...

There is considerable international concern and scientific debate about the current state and future of tuna stocks worldwide and the capacity of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to manage the associated fisheries effectively. In some cases, this concern has extended to predictions of imminent collapse with minimal chances of recovery, even under a commercial catch moratorium. As a viable alternative to a full fishe...

The diets of the most conspicuous reef‐fish species from northern Patagonia, the carnivorous species Pseudopercis semifasciata , Acanthistius patachonicus , Pinguipes brasilianus and Sebastes oculatus were studied. Pinguipes brasilianus had the narrowest diet and most specialized feeding strategy, preying mostly on reef‐dwelling organisms such as sea urchins, limpets, bivalves, crabs and polychaetes. The diet of A. patachonicu...

The Argentine sandperch, Pseudopercis semifasciata (Cuvier), is the target of unregulated recreational and artisanal fisheries within the northern Patagonian gulfs of Argentina. Being a reef species, the applicability of conventional large‐scale assessment and management approaches appear limited. A more suitable alternative might be offered by spatial approaches, but their effectiveness would depend on the species’ degree of...

A novel panel of 76 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was detected in seabream. These SNPs can be used to establish pedigrees in selection programmes and to assign progeny to parents in breeding studies. This panel represents the first description of nuclear SNPs in seabream.