Gene-associated markers provide tools for tackling illegal fishing and false eco-certification
Abstract
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has had a major role in the overexploitation of global fish populations. In response, international regulations have been imposed and many fisheries have been 'eco-certified' by consumer organizations, but methods for independent control of catch certificates and eco-labels are urgently needed. Here we show that, by using gene-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, individual marine fish can be assigned back to population of origin with unprecedented high levels of precision. By applying high differentiation single nucleotide polymorphism assays, in four commercial marine fish, on a pan-European scale, we find 93–100% of individuals could be correctly assigned to origin in policy-driven case studies. We show how case-targeted single nucleotide polymorphism assays can be created and forensically validated, using a centrally maintained and publicly available database. Our results demonstrate how application of gene-associated markers will likely revolutionize origin assignment and become highly valuable tools for fighting illegal fishing and mislabelling worldwide. Catch certificates and eco-labels are used to control illegal fishing worldwide, however, independent control methods are needed. Here, gene-associated SNPs are used to assign individual marine fish back to their population of origin with high precision, with potential application for illegal fishing control.
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BibTeX
@article{Nielsen2012,
author = {Einar Eg Nielsen and Alessia Cariani and Eoin Mac Aoidh and Grégory E. Maes and Ilaria Milano and Rob Ogden and Martin I. Taylor and Jakob Hemmer-Hansen and Massimiliano Babbucci and Luca Bargelloni and Dorte Bekkevold and Eveline Diopere and Leonie Grenfell and Sarah J. Helyar and Morten T. Limborg and Jann T. Martinsohn and Ross McEwing and Frank Panitz and Tomaso Patarnello and Fausto Tinti and Jeroen Van Houdt and Filip A. M. Volckaert and Robin S. Waples and Gary R. Carvalho},
journal = {Nature Communications},
title = {Gene-associated markers provide tools for tackling illegal fishing and false eco-certification},
year = {2012},
abstract = {Catch certificates and eco-labels are used to control illegal fishing worldwide, however, independent control methods are needed. Here, gene-associated SNPs are used to assign individual marine fish back to their population of origin with high precision, with potential application for illegal fishing control.},
doi = {10.1038/ncomms1845},
mag_id = {2129853163},
pmcid = {null},
pmid = {22617291},
}