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Research article2017Peer reviewedOpen access

Coherent assessments of Europe's marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss

Fernandes, Paul G.; Ralph, Gina M.; Nieto, Ana; Criado, Mariana Garcia; Vasilakopoulos, Paraskevas; Maravelias, Christos D.; Cook, Robin M.; Pollom, Riley A.; Kovacic, Marcelo; Pollard, David; Farrell, Edward D.; Florin, Ann-Britt; Polidoro, Beth A.; Lawson, Julia M.; Lorance, Pascal; Uiblein, Franz; Craig, Matthew; Allen, David J.; Fowler, Sarah L.; Walls, Rachel H. L.;
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Abstract

Europe has a long tradition of exploiting marine fishes and is promoting marine economic activity through its Blue Growth strategy. This increase in anthropogenic pressure, along with climate change, threatens the biodiversity of fishes and food security. Here, we examine the conservation status of 1,020 species of European marine fishes and identify factors that contribute to their extinction risk. Large fish species (greater than 1.5 m total length) are most at risk; half of these are threatened with extinction, predominantly sharks, rays and sturgeons. This analysis was based on the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European regional Red List of marine fishes, which was coherent with assessments of the status of fish stocks carried out independently by fisheries management agencies: no species classified by IUCN as threatened were considered sustainable by these agencies. A remarkable geographic divergence in stock status was also evident: in northern Europe, most stocks were not overfished, whereas in the Mediterranean Sea, almost all stocks were overfished. As Europe proceeds with its sustainable Blue Growth agenda, two main issues stand out as needing priority actions in relation to its marine fishes: the conservation of marine fish megafauna and the sustainability of Mediterranean fish stocks.

Published in

Nature ecology & evolution
2017, Volume: 1, number: 7, article number: UNSP 0170
Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
    SDG14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
    SDG13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Ecology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0170

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/93363