A two-year(2020–2021)observation of marine phycotoxins in phytoplankton in typical mariculture areas of East China Sea

To learn the marine phycotoxins(MPTs)contamination status in mariculture areas in the East China Sea(ECS),from May 2020 to October 2021,80 net-concentrated phytoplankton samples were collected from 12 stations in three typical areas with high incidence of red tides,namely,Gouqi Island,Sandu’ao-Lianjiang,and Zhangzhou-Dongshan Island in ECS,and MPTs of the samples were detected.Six types of toxins were detected in 24 samples from 9 stations.Lipophilic marine toxins(LMTs)were more common and diverse in these areas.Pectenotoxin 2(PTX2)was the main lipophilic marine toxin(LMT)in the concentrated phytoplankton samples and the occurrence showed seasonal differences from north to south.According to the potential risks of pectenotoxin(PTXs)to seafood safety,it is suggested to execute regular monitoring on PTXs in ECS and a mandatory standard should be formulated based on the comprehensive analysis of in-situ monitoring and lab research.Meanwhile,contamination risks of cyclic imine toxins in the north and domoic acid(DA)in the south of ECS should also be paid with attention to.Only 2 paralytic shellfish toxins(PSTs),N-sulfocarbamoyl toxin C2(C2),and decarbamoyl gonyatoxin 3(dcGTX3),were found from spring samples in the north of ECS.As the biggest mussel culture county of China,Gouqi Island showed higher toxin diversity and the toxin detection rate was higher than the other two areas.In Gouqi Island area,PSTs were a serious potential threat in spring,and LMTs instead of PSTs became the main risk in summer-autumn seasons.To ensure the safety of seafood and marine environmental health,it is recommended to conduct long-term targeted tracking and monitoring of MPTs in this and similar mariculture areas.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing: A risk scoring method for prioritizing inspection of fish imported to Australia for zoonotic parasites

The global burden of illegal fishing is estimated to be extensive.Intricately constructed trade routes introduce illegally caught fish products into the global commercial market,including Australia.To date,no studies have investigated the potential for illegally caught fish to harbor zoonotic parasites.Any tests applied to fish imported to Australia must be scientifically justified according to international trade agreements.The primary aim of this study was to develop a risk scoring method that provides a scientific basis for the development of protocols to examine fish imported to Australia for zoonotic parasites.The secondary aim was to estimate and prioritize the provenance of fish,which may be high-risk areas for illegal,unreported,and unregulated(IUU)1 fishing.The third aim was to calculate the amount of unreported catch from each of the ten highest-risk countries.Scoring was conducted using seven predictor variables,which were identified in the published literature as important,within the forensics of IUU fishing,for identifying the“IUU or unreported catch risk”of each provenance.The unreported catch(UC)2 for the highest scoring provenances(1–10)was calculated after risk scoring.The highest and second highest scoring provenances,30 and 67,had 39.8%and 41.55%UC,respectively;Provenance 79,which had the tenth highest risk score,had 6.9%UC.Linear regression analysis showed a non-significant association between the size of the exclusive economic zone and UC.Number of commercial spp.was the greatest indicator of UC.The analysis showed that for every unit increase in the number of different commercial spp.available,there was an increase of 5.28 units in the percentage of UC.Mean provenance risk scores and percentage of UC were linearly related.There was a 79.4%decrease in the mean risk scores between provenances 1–5 and 6–10;a decrease was also observed in the UC between the two groups(33.7%and 15.5%,respectively).The proposed scoring method appears to be a good predictor of UC,with a clear association between the mean risk scores for each provenance and percentage UC.