Biology, Fishery, Conservation and Management of Indian Ocean Tuna Fisheries

The focus of the study is to explore the recent trend of the world tuna fishery with special reference to the Indian Ocean tuna fisheries and its conservation and sustainable management. In the Indian Ocean, tuna catches have increased rapidly from about 179959 t in 1980 to about 832246 t in 1995. They have continued to increase up to 2005; the catch that year was 1201465 t, forming about 26% of the world catch. Since 2006 onwards there has been a decline in the volume of catches and in 2008 the catch was only 913625 t. The Principal species caught in the Indian Ocean are skipjack and yellowfin. Western Indian Ocean contributed 78.2% and eastern Indian Ocean 21.8% of the total tuna production from the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean stock is currently overfished and IOTC has made some recommendations for management regulations aimed at sustaining the tuna stock. Fishing operations can cause ecological impacts of different types: by catches, damage of the habitat, mortalities caused by lost or discarded gear, pollution, generation of marine debris, etc. Periodic reassessment of the tuna potential is also required with adequate inputs from exploratory surveys as well as commercial landings and this may prevent any unsustainable trends in the development of the tuna fishing industry in the Indian Ocean

Increasing the Number of Thyroid Lesions Classes in Microarray Analysis Improves the Relevance of Diagnostic Markers

BackgroundGenetic markers for thyroid cancers identified by microarray analysis have offered limited predictive accuracy so far because of the few classes of thyroid lesions usually taken into account. To improve diagnostic relevance, we have simultaneously analyzed microarray data from six public datasets covering a total of 347 thyroid tissue samples representing 12 histological classes of follicular lesions and normal thyroid tissue. Our own dataset, containing about half the thyroid tissue samples, included all categories of thyroid lesions. Methodology/Principal Findings Classifier predictions were strongly affected by similarities between classes and by the number of classes in the training sets. In each dataset, sample prediction was improved by separating the samples into three groups according to class similarities. The cross-validation of differential genes revealed four clusters with functional enrichments. The analysis of six of these genes (APOD, APOE, CLGN, CRABP1, SDHA and TIMP1) in 49 new samples showed consistent gene and protein profiles with the class similarities observed. Focusing on four subclasses of follicular tumor, we explored the diagnostic potential of 12 selected markers (CASP10, CDH16, CLGN, CRABP1, HMGB2, ALPL2, ADAMTS2, CABIN1, ALDH1A3, USP13, NR2F2, KRTHB5) by real-time quantitative RT-PCR on 32 other new samples. The gene expression profiles of follicular tumors were examined with reference to the mutational status of the Pax8-PPARγ, TSHR, GNAS and NRAS genes. Conclusion/Significance We show that diagnostic tools defined on the basis of microarray data are more relevant when a large number of samples and tissue classes are used. Taking into account the relationships between the thyroid tumor pathologies, together with the main biological functions and pathways involved, improved the diagnostic accuracy of the samples. Our approach was particularly relevant for the classification of microfollicular adenomas

Review of Recent Studies on the Absolute and Relative Growth of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Similarities with the Pacific Bluefin Tuna

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture on2019, available online: http://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2018.1488817[EN] This study aims to clarify some aspects of the growth of Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (L.), (ABFT) mainly regarding parameters of the growth equation and of relative growth, in this case length-weight relationships. There is a great volume of literature on these matters and there is a danger that the resulting confusion may give rise to mistaken decisions. In spite of the publication of 55 articles on absolute growth (FL > 50 cm), which contain a total of 43 growth equations, no consensus has yet been reached within the ABFT assessment group (AG) of the SCRS on parameters such as L-max and L-infinity. The results of the present study indicate that the L-infinity = 314.9 cm of the growth equation used for the western stock by the AG from 2010 (Lt = 314.9 [1 - e(-0.089 (t) (+ 1.13))]), which was discarded in 2016, lies within the confidence limits of the maximum Ls presented in this study (L-max= 321.4 +/- 8.7 cm), confirming that this equation fit the biology of the ABFT growth. With regard to the length-weight relationships, 38 articles (FL > 50 cm) have been consulted containing a total of 71 equations, but in spite of this the models adopted by the AG in 2014 underestimate the weight of spawners (>2 m) in high fattening phase by up to 23%. The coincidence of the length-weight model for the ABFT western stock, discarded by the AG in 2014, with that of Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis (T & S), (PBFT) indicates that both species must have the same growth, something that is not surprising since both were the same species until 2003. Other coincidences, such as the trend of condition factor K in adults and the growth in the first months of life, could ratify it. In the Pacific Ocean, where far fewer growth studies have been made on PBFT than on ABFT in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the management of growth models for the purposes of stock assessment in the International Scientific Committee (ISC) makes more sense than that carried out by the SCRS on this matter.Cort, JL.; Estruch, VD. (2019). Review of Recent Studies on the Absolute and Relative Growth of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Similarities with the Pacific Bluefin Tuna. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. 27(1):88-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2018.1488817S8810527