Trends in fisheries waste utilization: a valuable resource of nutrients and valorized products for the food industry.

The rise in fisheries production worldwide has caused a remarkable increase in associated anthropogenic waste. This poses significant concerns due to adverse environmental impacts and economic losses. Owing to its renewability, high abundance, and potential as a rich source of many nutrients and bioactive compounds, strategies have been developed to convert fish waste into different value-added products. Conventional and improved methods have been used for the extraction of biomolecules from fish waste. The extracted fish waste-derived value-added products such as enzymes, peptides, fish oil, etc. have been used to fortify different food products. This review aims to provide an overview of the nature and composition of fish waste, strategies for extracting biomolecules from fish waste, and the potential application of fish waste as a source of calcium and other nutrients in food fortification and animal feed has been discussed. In context to fishery waste mitigation, valorization, and circular bioeconomy approach are gaining momentum, aiming to eliminate waste while producing high-quality value-added food and feed products from fishery discards.

Prevalence of indicator and potential pathogenic bacterial groups in the Chapora bay-estuarine system, Goa, central west coast of India.

This paper describes the prevalence of indicator and pathogenic bacterial groups in water and sediments in OSZ-offshore, ISZ-inshore, IEZ-inner estuary, and UEZ-upper estuary along the river Chapora, central west coast of India, which is influenced by anthropogenic inputs. The abundance of indicator bacterial groups such as total coliforms and Escherichia coli-like organisms in water ranged from non-detectable (ND) to 103 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. In contrast, their abundance in the sediments was six orders magnitude higher than water (ND to 109 CFU/g). The abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria in water and sediment samples ranged from ND to 103 CFU/mL and from ND to 109 CFU/g respectively, with Shigella-like organisms (SHLO) being the most abundant. In the surface waters, SHLO and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-like organisms (PALO) and in bottom waters, Vibrio parahaemolyticus-like organism and PALO increased progressively from OSZ to UEZ. In contrast, Proteus/Klebsiella-like organisms (PKLO) showed a reverse trend. Amongst all four zones, IEZ was the most contaminated in terms of the higher abundance of indicator and potential pathogenic bacterial populations as corroborated by significantly lower water quality index value. Principal component analysis performed using physico-chemical variables and bacterial groups to reduce data set variability revealed that a different set of parameters contributed differently to the total variation in each zone. Considering the eco-sensitivity of the river Chapora, the results of the present study call for precautionary measures to minimize the degree of anthropogenic inputs.

Morphological and molecular evidence for first records and range extension of the Japanese seahorse, Hippocampus mohnikei (Bleeker 1853) in a bay-estuarine system of Goa, central west coast of India.

Accurate information of taxonomy and geographic range of seahorse species (genus Hippocampus) is the first step in preparing threat assessments and designing effective conservation measures. Here, we report first records and a range extension of the Japanese seahorse, Hippocampus mohnikei (Bleeker, 1853) from the Mandovi estuarine ecosystem of Goa, central west coast of India (CWCI) based on morphological and molecular analyses. The morphometric and meristic traits, particularly short snout (29-35% head length), double cheek spine, low coronet, long tail (51.2-57.9% of standard length), 11 trunk rings, 37-39 tail rings, 15-16 dorsal and 12-14 fin rays observed in four collected specimens matched with the reported key diagnostic morphological criteria of vouchered specimens of H. mohnikei. The seahorse mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cyt b) genes were partially sequenced for conclusive genetic identification of the species under study. Molecular analysis showed that all four individuals clustered together suggesting a monophyletic lineage. Using the maximum similarity with GenBank database, maximum likelihood network and subsequent morphological analysis, the identity of the collected seahorse species was reconfirmed as H. mohnikei. With this new report, the geographic range of H. mohnikei extended significantly to the west from its previously known range. This new sighting of H. mohnikei could indicate a long-distance dispersal facilitated by the prevailing oceanic circulation in the Indo-Pacific region or increased habitat suitability in bay-estuarine systems of Goa, CWCI. Comparison of the pair-wise genetic distances (Kimura 2-parameter) based on COI and Cyt b sequences revealed that the specimens examined in this study are genetically closer to H. mohnikei populations from Vietnam and Thailand than they are to those in Japan and China. To test the hypothesis whether H. mohnikei are vagrants or previously unreported established population, long-term inter-annual sampling and analyses are warranted.