Fish is a major part of the Bangladeshi diet, but data on the nutrient composition of marine fish species are sparse. Mesopelagic fish may be a new potential resource of food and nutrients; however, ...nutrient composition data are lacking. The aim of this study was to provide nutrient composition data of fish species sampled off the coast of Bangladesh and determine their potential contribution to recommended nutrient intakes (RNI). Seven species from the pelagic, mesopelagic, and demersal zones were sampled from the coast of Bangladesh with Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in 2018. Three pooled samples containing 15-840 individuals from each species were analysed at the Institute of Marine Research, Norway. The demersal species contained substantially lower concentrations of nearly all nutrients, whereas the mesopelagic species generally were more nutrient dense. All species, except for the demersal species Bombay duck (9% dry matter), were found to contribute ≥100% to the RNI of vitamin B12, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and selenium. All species, except for the demersal fish species, contributed ≥25% to the RNI of six or more nutrients. The data presented in this paper are an important contribution to the Bangladeshi food composition table and contribute to the understanding of fish as an important source of micronutrients.
Fish represent an important part of the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi diet. However, fish is also a source of contaminants that may constitute a health risk to consumers. The aim of this study was to ...analyse the contents of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead in 24 commonly consumed marine fish species from the Bay of Bengal and to assess the potential health risk associated with their consumption. Mercury and lead contents did not exceed the maximum limits for any of the sampled species, and consumer exposure from estimated daily consumption was assessed to be minimal for adults and children. Numerous samples exceeded the maximum limit for cadmium (58%), particularly those of small size (≤25 cm). However, consumer exposure was insignificant, and health assessment showed no risk connected to consumption. These data represent an important contribution to future risk/benefit assessments related to the consumption of fish.
Beginning in the seventeenth century, numerous attempts were made to reach a very high latitude or even the North Pole. One of the more successful of these was the Italian Arctic expedition of ...1899–1900, led by Luigi Amedeo di Savoia (Duke of the Abruzzi). Using two successively returning support parties, di Savoia’s second-in-command, Captain Umberto Cagni’s party eventually reached 86°34’N north of their base in the Franz Josef Land archipelago before retreating due to lack of supplies. The second support party also returned safely to the base from 83°16’N. However, the first support party, led by Lieutenant Francesco Querini, disappeared without a trace after returning southwards from 82°32’N. Although previous studies have cited starvation from lack of food supplies or accidents as the potential causes of their disappearance, the extant literature does not provide any deeper analyses to explain these events. This study explores the hypothesis that the first support party in fact turned back from a much more westerly position than they thought. This, in combination with an untimely blizzard that prevented travelling for several days, most likely made it impossible for Querini and his two men to return to base before their limited supplies ran out.
Somali waters have the potential to support some of the most productive fisheries in the world, but the sustainability of those fisheries is compromised by the presence of foreign fishing vessels, ...many of them fishing illegally. The Somali domestic fishing sector is small and relatively nascent, but foreign vessels have fished in Somali waters for at least seven decades. Some foreign vessels and their crew have been a direct, physical threat to Somali artisanal fishers. Many foreign vessels directly compete for fish, reducing fish populations and destroying marine habitat through bottom trawling. In this paper, we reconstruct foreign catch in Somali waters from 1981 – 2014 and classify the health of seventeen commercial fish stocks. Foreign fishing has increased more than twenty-fold since 1981, and the most rapid increase occurred during the 1990s after the collapse of the Federal government and ensuing civil war. We estimate foreign fishing vessels caught 92,500 mt of fish in 2014, almost twice that caught by the Somali domestic fleet. Iran (48%) and Yemen (31%) accounted for the vast majority of foreign fish catch in the most recent year of analysis. Although responsible for only 6% of total foreign catch, trawl vessels disproportionately impact public perception of foreign fishing. We find they trawled over 120,000 km2 of marine seabed in nearshore waters during 2010 - 2014. Foreign IUU fishing in Somali waters is fueling public anger and perpetuating conflict in five ways: by directly competing with the domestic fishery; through links to piracy; through nearshore illegal and destructive bottom trawling; by contributing to regional political conflict over vessel licensing; and by reducing long-term livelihood security. Significant levels of foreign fishing combined with inconsistent governance means Somalis are not fully benefitting from the exploitation of their marine resources at a local or national level, leading to insecurity at both scales.
Fish and seafood may play an important role for nutrition and food security as they contain essential vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. The aim of this study was to describe the nutrient ...composition, including fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, in commonly consumed fish species (fillet- and whole fish samples) sampled off the Northwest African coast. Furthermore, we assessed the species’ contributions to the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) values from the World Health Organization (WHO). Samples of commercially important fish species (Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus, Trachurus trachurus, Pagellus acarne) were collected using trawling on the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in May 2017 and analyzed for nutrients at the Institute of Marine Research as individual and composite samples. All the analyzed fish species were good dietary sources of several vitamins and minerals and whole fish were substantially more nutrient dense than fillet samples, especially with regard to vitamin A, iodine, zinc, calcium, and iron. Including 100 g of sardine or anchovy (whole fish) in the diet, would contribute substantially to the RNI for vitamin B12, vitamin D and vitamin A, EPA and DHA as well as the minerals iodine, zinc, and calcium. This study shows that fish consumed with skin, bone, and viscera may be very nutrient dense and important for local food and nutrition security.
This contribution examines the EU’s innovative climate and energy package: how this package of binding policies has been initiated, decided, implemented and reformed. The key argument is that linking ...climate and energy concerns can help to explain how the EU managed to adopt an ambitious package of policies aimed at achieving 2020 goals. The combination of differently valued issues, side payments to overcome distributional obstacles and the creation of synergies contributed to a successfully negotiated outcome. The consequences for implementation and further policy development towards 2030 are explained by challenges in reproducing these joint EU-level gains at national level and by new circumstances. This may weaken the EU’s chances of realizing a low-carbon economy and ‘leadership by example’ in international climate policy.
Myxosporean parasites of the genus Kudoa are fish parasites of great economic importance, as some species can affect the fish fillet quality by producing macroscopic cysts or generating post mortem ...myoliquefaction, commonly referred to as ‘soft flesh’. Kudoa mirabilis is a ‘soft flesh’-inducing species originally described based on morphology in the musculature of Trichiurus lepturus from the Indian Ocean. An integrative morphological and genetic characterization of K. mirabilis from the type host caught off the coast of Tanzania is here provided. The spores were stellate with four unequal polar capsules, showing similarities to Kudoa thyrsites. For comparative and validation purpose, K. mirabilis was compared morphologically and genetically with K. thyrsites reference isolates, including new obtained samples from the type host Thyrsites atun caught in the SE Atlantic Ocean. Morphological analyses of spores revealed key diagnostic characters clearly distinguishing the two Kudoa species. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU and LSU rRNA genes demonstrated that K. mirabilis is a distinct and valid species, representing a sister group to a K. thyrsites subclade that comprises several isolates from Japan and one single isolate from South Africa. This finding raises questions about the true diversity likely hidden in the K. thyrsites complex.
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