sustainable fisheries and barcoding

Question 1

how is knowing the provenance of fish we eat useful?

Answer 1

• fisheries stock conservation, ensuring long-term sustainability of stock
• consumer confidence
• economic reasons

Question 2

importance of fishery conservation

Answer 2

• majority of world’s fish comes from natural populations that are not artificially maintained
• ~90% world’s marine fish stocks are either fully exploited, overexploited or depleted

Question 3

fish stock

Answer 3

• a sub-population of a species in a specific region
• each sub-population has different physical and behavioural adaptations with particular genetic characteristics so spawn separately
• genetic barcoding can detect the difference between sub-populations

Question 4

North Atlantic cod

Answer 4

• currently sustainable fish stock
• North sea cod, a different fish stock, is heavily overfished
• US cod stocks collapsed in the 1990s

Question 5

Bluefin tuna

Answer 5

• critically endangered
• 2 genetically different breeding stocks, Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico
• feeding zones overlap in mid-Atlantic so can be caught together

Question 6

detecting fish stocks with barcoding

Answer 6

• mCO1 gene is well conserved in fish
• different stocks have developed unique sets of mutations on the CO1 gene
• often other areas of mitochondrial and autosomal DNA are also used to distinguish between sub-populations

Question 7

consumer confidence, awareness of sustainability and overfishing

Answer 7

• sustainable seafood coalition (SSC) labelling code
• marine conservation society good fish guide, takes into account fishery location, fishing method and the latest science on fish behaviour and population genetics
• marine stewardship council (MSC), universally recognised across brands, continually monitor fish stocks labelled by spot testing and DNA barcoding samples

Question 8

economics of sustainable fisheries

Answer 8

• certified fisheries tend to be more trusted by customers so hold a greater market share and are able to charger higher rates, giving them an economic incentive
• ensures longer term viability of the industry
• accreditation withdrawn if fish are caught being mispackaged

Question 9

economic benefits of fish fraud

Answer 9

• labelling non-sustainable fish as sustainable can bring economic benefits
• including different less commercial species into processed products
• cheaper fish passed off as more desirable
• can incorporate black fish (illegally caught fish over quota)