In August 2019, a major oil spill hit nine Brazilian coastal states, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities. In this study, we assess the immediate social and economic impacts of this oil spill on fishing communities of the northeast coast. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focal meetings with 381 fishers and shellfish gatherers to understand the perceived socioeconomic impacts on different types of fishing. We also obtained information on fish consumption after the oil spill, which we compared with data prior to the oil spill from the same communities. Sales decreased by more than 50% for all types of fishing, strongly impacting local income generation. These communities, which are already social-ecologically vulnerable, have had their subsistence, food security and cultural maintenance strongly compromised. We argue that there is a clear need for coordinated state interventions to mitigation the impacts, considering it's environmental, social, economic, human health and political dimensions.

In early XXth century, the Gulf of Gabes (SE Tunisia) used to host the most extended Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds in the Mediterranean Sea, and a highly productive hotspot of benthic/demersal biodiversity. Sponge harvesting and seabed trawling provoked a first step of seagrass degradation. Subsequently, phosphogypsum releases from Gabes Industrial Complex, since mid-1970s, accelerated the decline of the remaining patches. A sharp reduction of coastal fisheries landings took place with the establishment of the last industrial plant units in 1985. The decrease in coastal commercial species landings was found to be directly correlated with P. oceanica decline. The trophic web system switched from a ‘benthic-dominated’ to a ‘pelagic-dominated’ system. The economic loss related to coastal fisheries was estimated at ~60 million € in 2014 and the 1990–2014 cumulated loss exceeded 750 million €. This first economic valuation of the only direct-use consumptive value of the coastal fishing service provided by P. oceanica in Gabes Gulf is a first step towards the assessment of the environmental cost of the negative externalities caused by the local phosphate industry. It may be used as a preliminary decision-making aid to consider alternative industrial solutions.

PCBs and OCPs were analyzed in fish (bass) taken along Chinese coastal fisheries. In the bass muscle, PCB, DDT and HCH concentrations were in the range of 1.02–2.2ng/g, 0.44–1.74 and 2.84–106.11ng/gww, respectively. Spatial distribution showed that the concentrations of target contaminants in bass from south fisheries were in general much lower than those from north fisheries in China. The ratios of OCP congeners suggested that technical DDT was not the main input and a recent usage of lindane or old technical HCH residuals could be the source of HCHs. The OCC concentrations in liver (127–442.43ng/gww) from selected samples were 8–12 and 10–14 times higher than those in gills and muscles, respectively. Based on the maximum allowable fish assumption rate (CRlim and CRmm), it could cause human health risk, by consuming bass samples taken from highly contaminated fisheries including QD and ST.

This study was aimed to investigate the growth characteristics of Oxyrrhis marina and Chattonella marina in co-culture to provide experimental evidences for discussing successions of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and coastal biological communities. The colour changes of culture media of C. marina and growth characteristics of O. marina and C. marina in co-culture were analysed by the combined methods of macroobservation, microscopic examination and counting. In co-culture, the colours of culture media of C. marina had changed and their transparencies had increased with increasing elapsed incubation time after inoculated by O. marina under different initial cell densities. With the increase of the initial density of O. marina (0.17×104 cells/mL, 0.50×104 cells/mL and 0.64×104 cells/mL in C. marina culture media), the time required, that the populations of O. marina reached the stationary phases, was shorter i.e. 6d, 5d and 3d after inoculated by O. marina, respectively, and the death time of all cells of C. marina became shorter, i.e. 7d, 6d and 4d after inoculated by O. marina, respectively. During the 15 days culture period, all C. marina populations were evolved to O. marina populations. Residues of C. marina adhering to precipitates and chromatophores scattering in the culture media could strengthen the colour of culture media, C. marina populations were evolved to O. marina populations respectively within the concentrations designed in co-culture in this experiment. Disturbance feeding was one of the reasons for successions, and the results provide experimental evidences for discussing successions of red tides and coastal biological communities.