Pelagic fish species, including Clupea harengus (Atlantic herring), Scomber scombrus (Atlantic mackerel) and Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass), are integral to the ecological stability of European marine ecosystems. This study employs a mechanistic niche modelling approach to predict the distribution of these key pelagic species in European seas and to assess the impact of predicted changes in climate conditions on their...

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will likely result in reduced fishing grounds for the Belgian fishing fleet. This fleet now targets demersal fish, but there used to be a tradition of catching Atlantic herring ( Clupea harengus ). After the stock collapse of Atlantic herring in the 1970s, fishing on herring by the Belgian fleet did not recover and herring quotas are now exchanged with the Netherland...

Marine phytoplankton biomass dynamics are affected by eutrophication, ocean warming, and ocean acidification. These changing abiotic conditions may impact phytoplankton biomass and its spatiotemporal dynamics. In this study, we used a nutrient–phytoplankton–zooplankton (NPZ) model to quantify the relative importance of the bottom-up and top-down determinants of phytoplankton biomass dynamics in the Belgian part of the North Se...

Monitoring the occurrence and trends of microplastic contamination in the marine environment is key to establish microplastic (MP) data baselines, to work out policy mitigation measures, and to assess the effectiveness of waste regulations. To establish MP contamination baselines in the marine environment, marine biota species can be selected as monitoring matrices to track plastic pollution in the environment. The aim of this...