Blast fishing is an illegal, ecologically destructive fishing method, fatal for many fish species at large scales. Blast fishing using dynamite is preferred by the fishers, especially small scale fisheries in Turkey, as it requires minimal effort but still results in higher catches. In the current study, demonstration of 20 controlled real-time blasting results involves species composition, size of fish, catch rates, catch composition, commercial/discard ratios, CPUE estimates and clinical observations of external and internal abnormality symptoms of fish species. Blasting trials were carried out with special permission in limited numbers because of its harmful effect. The collected data was tested using PRIMER v6 and diversity indices were also analysed. For the similarity between collected species cluster analysis was used to examine the stability of the results. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was also applied for the assessment of fish species in the catch. A total of 1014 individuals (63.8 kg) were collected and 18 fish species belonging to seven families were examined. According to laboratory examinations, it was found that blasting caused different external and internal abnormality symptoms in the sampled fish species during the study.

Smartphones are increasingly the most common type of mobile phone used throughout the world, offering users the ability to browse the internet and access mobile applications. Smartphones are also often equipped with high definition digital cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and GPS. They can, therefore, facilitate the collection and dissemination of data, often through purpose designed applications (apps). As a result, numerous apps have been developed for use in wild capture fisheries. These apps have been designed for a number of purposes including for data collection, providing information to fishers, being linked to value chains and post-harvest practices and for uses linked to employment, legislation and safety. These apps are used across the world from large commercialized fisheries to small scale fisheries. In the latter, apps have the potential to bridge a technology gap, possibly replicating the functions of multiple pieces of hardware such as are used on larger vessels. This paper presents results from a narrative literature review to provide a synthesis of smart phone apps currently available for use by commercial fishers. 84 smartphone apps were identified as being currently available for use in commercial wild capture fisheries throughout the world. Smartphone apps were available for a number of uses but they were predominantly used for data collection and reporting. While this review provides an important overview of the extent of app use in commercial wild capture fisheries there remains potential for future work to improve understanding of how beneficial app use is and what it is that encourages app use and determines an app as being \'successful\'.
UNASSIGNED: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11160-022-09727-6.

COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat for mankind having an extensive socio-economic impact. However, it is considered as an unfortunate event with some positive environmental effects where nature is retrieving itself. The water quality index in different places of the world was reported to be improved during the lockdown, which in turn whipped up the regenerative process of fishes, sea turtles, marine mammals, and aquatic birds. Additionally, ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves and coral reefs were also seen rejuvenating during COVID-19 seal off. But these favourable implications are temporary as there is an unexpected surge in plastic waste generation in the form of PPE kits, face masks, gloves, and other healthcare equipment. Moreover, the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in the complete closure of fishing activities, decline in fish catch, market disruption, and change in consumer preference. To address these multidimensional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, government organizations, NGOs, and other concerned authorities should extend their support to amplify the positive impacts of the lockdown and reduce the subsequent pollution level while encouraging the fisheries sector.

The presence of microplastics has been reported in the marine environment and these pollutants have also been reported in food webs. Information about the presence of microplastics in the Haller\'s Round Ray (Urobatis halleri) and bottom sediments off the east coast of the Gulf of California is non-existent. The digestive tracts of individuals of this species and sediment samples were examined for plastic particles in this region. In total, 107 plastic particles were found in the sediment. All were fibers and 94.4% were microplastics, the rest were mesoplastics. The gastrointestinal tracts of 142 rays were analysed, and it was determined that this is a benthic feeder. A total of 386 plastic particles were recovered from 46 individuals (32.4%). On average 10.2 (±7.4) plastic particles were found per specimen, with plastic lengths ranging from 0.00821 mm to 0.953 mm. The FTIR-ATR analysis revealed the presence of six types of polymers: polyamide or nylon polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyacrylic were found in both sediments and gastrointestinal tracts of Haller\'s Round Ray. Polyethylene terephthalate and polyacrylamide were only found in the gastrointestinal tracts of the ray. These polymers are consistent with the human activities undertaken in this area, specifically intensive small-scale and industrial fisheries, as they are used for the elaboration of fishing nets, plastic bags, storage containers, clothing, and fishing boats maintenance. Our results show that benthic feeders are exposed to plastic debris, and its presence is another potential threat to batoids, which are already threatened by bycatch, overfishing, and other pollutants. However, studies on the ingestion of plastic debris in batoids and its presence in the sediment are still scarce or non-existent for this region. As such, these studies are necessary to help in the preservation of these species.

Plastic particle occurrence in the digestive tracts of fishes from a tropical estuarine system in the Gulf of California was investigated. A total of 1095 fish were analysed, representing 15 species. In total 1384 particles of plastic debris were recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts of 552 specimens belonging to 13 species, and all consisted of threads, the majority of which were small microplastics (0.23 to 1.89), followed by large microplastics (2.07 to 4.49), and few mesoplastics (5.4 to 19.86). Plastic particles were identified using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The mean frequency of occurrence of plastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of fishes from this system was 50.5%, which is higher than frequencies reported in similar systems in other areas. The polymers identified by ATR-FTIR were polyamide (51.2%), polyethylene (36.6%), polypropylene (7.3%), and polyacrylic (4.9%). These results show the first evidence of plastic contamination for estuarine biota in the Gulf of California.