Introduction We explored using several novel airborne aquatic remote sensing technologies for the automated airborne detection and localization of underwater military munitions in a complex marine environment. These include National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA‘s) passive multispectral Fluid Lensing and active Multispectral Imaging, Detection, and Active Reflectance (MiDAR) technologies, as well as a modified version of the NASA NEMO-Net neural network framework based on a pretrained You Only Look Once (YOLO) model. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) presents an ongoing hazard in international shallow marine environments, with munitions dating to WWI and earlier posing risks not only to humans in local communities but also to marine ecosystems and maritime infrastructure. Remediation of in-water UXO requires localizing and characterizing anthropogenic objects in cluttered environments where the marine environment obfuscates detection because of biofouling, sedimentation, and other changes in UXO appearance and structure. The detection of UXO in littoral zones 10 m and shallower, where they pose the most direct risk to humans, remains especially challenging owing to the limited ability of acoustic methods to operate over large areas in such shallow regimes and the effects of ocean wave distortion and caustics on optical sensing methods from aircraft or spacecraft. Methods Here, multispectral (444–842 nm) airborne Fluid Lensing, an airborne remote sensing technology capable of optical imaging through ocean wave distortion without refractive or caustic effects, as well as active MiDAR Fluid Lensing, spanning ultraviolet to visible optical bands (375–675 nm), was applied to image underwater munitions of varying colors and conditions ranging in size from 2 to 10 cm in width and maximal linear dimension from 25.5 to 66 cm over a large marine environment using unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs). Inert munitions were deployed underwater at the University of Miami’s Florida Keys Broad Key Research Station under a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) permit over a large area replete with high anthropogenic and natural clutter. Over the next 2 months, the targets were left to biofoul and accumulate sediment. Airborne Fluid Lensing campaigns were then conducted to detect and localize the targets prior to manually removing them. Results We trained a YOLO-based model on 2,700 artificially augmented samples from nine UXO targets in our field site to detect the inert munitions from the airborne datasets. We detected and localized all 14 deployed UXO targets in three imaging products spanning passive [3-band high resolution (0.5–1-cm Ground Sample Distance (GSD)) and 10-band multispectral (1–3-cm GSD)] and active [8-band MiDAR (0.3–1-cm GSD)] sensing modalities at previously unknown locations. This instance-segmentation detector achieved high precision with moderate recall upon convergence (~200 epochs: P ≈ 0.95 , R ≈ 0.71 , mAP @ 0.5 ≈ 0.775 , mAP @ 0.5 : 0.95 ≈ 0.488 ) and cross-validated with an F1 (Dice) score within 0.83–0.89. Discussion We found that active 8-band MiDAR Fluid Lensing outperforms passive 3-band and 10-band multispectral Fluid Lensing at comparable spatial resolution, with precision values in the 0.8–0.9, 0.73–0.89, and 0.71–0.74 ranges, respectively. Indeed, several active water-penetrating MiDAR bands were identified for these UXO targets that result in higher precision, even in the presence of decoy targets placed next to the target UXO. Together, these results suggest that airborne active MiDAR and passive Fluid Lensing combined with a pretrained convolutional neural network are viable solutions to large-scale UXO detection in cluttered marine environments; however, additional campaigns and UXO target types are needed to scale the method more broadly and increase detector precision while reducing false-positive rates across more heterogeneity in depth and benthic substrates.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are champions on the global stage of sustainable and equitable ocean management. This paper addresses the contributions of SIDS to the negotiation and development of the legally binding agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). Firstly, we reflect on how SIDS claimed space and asserted voice during the negotiation process. We illustrate SIDS’ emergence as active, effective and influential participants in the BBNJ negotiation process, highlighting issues key for SIDS such as special circumstances of SIDS as a principle, special considerations relating elements of the Agreement’s package, and representation on key institutional structures. Secondly, we analyse how and why SIDS created space and gave voice to important topics for equity in the agreement - such as transparency, participation, traditional knowledge, gender, and effective capacity building and technology transfer. We argue that these contributions by SIDS stand to benefit the implementation of the agreement as a whole. Thirdly, we look ahead to consider how SIDS might cement space and maintain voice, including in relation to promoting SIDS expertise in implementation, enabling knowledge exchange between SIDS negotiators, and filling capacity and financing shortfalls in SIDS. Our analysis illustrates a strategic approach of internal coordination geared towards targeted external influence that served SIDS well during the negotiations and stands to benefit SIDS and the ocean overall in future.

Turbot is a crucial species in seawater aquaculture, with feed costs constituting the highest proportion of breeding expenses. Developing a new turbot variety with high feed efficiency can effectively reduce breeding costs and promote industrial development. To facilitate breeding efforts, it is essential to first evaluate the genetic parameters of feed efficiency traits, including feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and residual feed intake (RFI). This experiment involved 2160 juvenile turbot from 72 full-sib families, using a specially designed cage culture system to measure individual FCE and growth traits and conduct genetic parameter evaluation. The phenotypic value of the FCE trait ranged from 0.060 to 1.566, with differences between families ranging from 0.732 to 1.345. The heritability estimates for body weight and body length were 0.38 and 0.52, respectively. Notably, the heritabilities for FCE and RFI were estimated to be 0.61 and 0.43, demonstrating substantial potential for genetic improvement. The genetic correlation between FCE and body weight varied significantly across developmental stages: it was moderate at the initial stage ( r g = 0.54) but increased to a highly positive level at the final harvest stage ( r g = 0.79). This indicates that indirect selection for FCE via body weight is highly effective. Furthermore, genotypic RFI exhibited complete genetic independence ( r g = 0.00) from body weight. This demonstrates that RFI is not influenced by body weight, making it a superior and independent selection index to breed feed-efficient turbot. The findings of this study provide a necessary genetic foundation for developing new turbot varieties with superior feed conversion efficiency.

Underwater radiated noise (URN) from vessels is an anthropogenic stressor that negatively affects marine ecosystems. Accordingly, the ability to estimate URN levels is a critical component for environmental assessment. Predictive models are widely used to estimate URN emissions from different vessel types and operating conditions; however, comparable models for small recreational vessels are largely lacking, even though these vessels are arguably a dominant source of noise pollution in coastal areas. Here, we use a large dataset of acoustic measurements of recreational vessels to extend the empirical framework to small motorized vessels (motorized yachts and sailboats) by constructing regularized log-linear regression models that provide length and speed dependent source spectra over 23–24,000 Hz.

Introduction Multi-dimensional fishery resource allocation presents a complex and highly nonlinear optimization challenge under the converging pressures of ecological redlines and industrial transformation. Existing allocation approaches often struggle to coordinate production, processing, and marketing under rigid ecological and capacity constraints, thereby limiting the sustainable transition of China’s fishery sector. Methods Using decade-long longitudinal data from China (2014–2023), this study develops a production–processing–marketing (PPM) synergy framework for multi-dimensional fishery resource allocation. The framework integrates rigid constraints, including strict catch limits, processing capacities, and spatial thresholds, to simultaneously optimize economic returns, production structures, and infrastructure efficiency. To solve the resulting ultra-high-dimensional and non-convex optimization problem, an Improved Adaptive NSGA-III (IA-NSGA-III) is proposed. The algorithm incorporates two key strategies: an adaptive reference point relocation mechanism to improve Pareto front coverage under non-uniform objectives, and a constraint-violation-feedback-based heuristic evolutionary operator with hierarchical selection logic to accelerate convergence in high-feasibility regions. Results The empirical results show that IA-NSGA-III outperforms standard NSGA-III and MOEA/D in both convergence and solution quality. Specifically, the proposed algorithm achieves a Hypervolume (HV) of 0.96 and a minimum Inverted Generational Distance (IGD) of 0.012. In addition, the proposed model improves synergistic resource efficiency by 15.2%–20.4% while maintaining near-perfect ecological security satisfaction ( η eco ≈99.981%, η eco ≈99.981%). The ablation analysis further reveals that neglecting midstream processing results in a 23.1% decline in social reliability, whereas digitalization significantly enhances systemic resilience. Discussion These findings indicate that the proposed PPM synergy framework and IA-NSGA-III provide an effective decision-support tool for balancing ecological protection, industrial coordination, and resource efficiency in multi-dimensional fishery systems. The study offers a robust analytical basis for promoting the sustainable transformation and resilience of China’s fishery sector under rigid ecological and industrial constraints.

The blue crab ( Callinectes sapidus ) is among the 100 most harmful invasive species worldwide and was introduced to the Mediterranean in the mid-20th century via shipping, causing major ecological and aquaculture harmful consequences. Similar to Ariadne’s thread resolution to the labyrinth through an encyclopedic operation of logic towards all viable routes, the key to resolving the problem of blue crab’s invasion is to support the main predation potential, i.e., human consumption. This review examines the ecological, biochemical, and molecular basis of this successful invasion and proposes circular valorization of blue crab by-products as a strategy to convert the invasion into a market opportunity. Under climate change, adaptive traits of C. sapidus indicate stable establishment and further spread, suggesting that its exploitation could lead to ecological balance. However, because of consumer attitudes and European Union (EU) regulations, blue crab fisheries remain underdeveloped despite its high nutritional value, while some catches are even exported back to their native range. Apart from the high meat quality, blue crab’s shell, an element usually considered as waste, constitutes a source of high valued by-products such as chitin and chitosan, which represent bio-active compounds for the food industry. Shell-derived carotenoids and CaCO 3 can stand as a supplement in poultry feeds and in fish feed coloration where it is needed, as it does in salmon. Since processing methods generate waste that may exceed 80% of the total biomass, turning this waste into high-value products may result in transforming this invasive species into a high valued fisheries source.

Terrestrial and marine species are exhibiting distributional shifts due to climate change and resource availability. As food webs are impacted, some species have moved into areas of increased human activity, encountering anthropogenic hazards. A coastal marine species that undertakes a long migration between breeding and foraging ranges, the Eastern North Pacific (ENP) population of gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ) is especially vulnerable to changes. Subgroups of ENP gray whales, including the Pacific Coast Feeding Group and the (Puget) Sounders, have adapted to exploit alternative feeding grounds as prey availability declines in the Arctic. Novel to known migration phenology, gray whales have been observed seasonally since 2018 in San Francisco Bay (SF Bay), California. We evaluated subgroup identity and mortality of gray whales in SF Bay from 2018–2025 using photo-identification. Data were collected through vessel-based surveys, opportunistic effort, and community submissions. We identified 114 individual whales of which eight were matched to a subgroup, indicating gray whales utilizing SF Bay are not merely a range extension by foraging subgroups. Only four gray whales were resighted within SF Bay between years. Using photographs, 21 individuals were successfully matched to carcasses and a minimum mortality rate of 18% was determined. Blunt and/or sharp force trauma consistent with vessel strike was determined to be the cause of death for 30 of 70 carcasses, and for nine of 11 matched animals where a cause of death was determined. Sounder and PCFG matched whales were more likely to survive SF Bay than ENP individuals, though minimum length of stay did not influence mortality. This work confirms that gray whales entering SF Bay are highly susceptible to vessel strike mortality and highlights a crucial need to identify and implement adaptive management strategies to mitigate injuries and mortality as whales continue to utilize novel habitat.

Marine heat waves pose a critical threat to hard corals and mitigation strategies are needed to support coral survival. Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient whose addition can alleviate thermal stress in some hard corals. However, the effective dose as well as potential detrimental effects at higher dosages are largely unknown and may be species-specific. To assess the suitability of Mn supplementation as an intervention measure, it is further crucial to test its effect on other coral reef organisms, such as soft corals. We investigated the combined effect of Mn supplementation (daily pulses of 0, 120 and 260 µg L -1 ) during a simulated heatwave (stepwise increase from 26 to 32 °C) on the physiology of the hard coral Montipora digitata and the pulsating soft coral Xenia umbellata in a 5-week aquarium experiment. Mn addition did not have a significant effect on both corals at the culture temperature of 26 °C. M. digitata was increasingly affected by rising temperatures with severe bleaching and a 90% reduction in symbiont density at 32 °C, independent of Mn concentration. In contrast, X. umbellata was unaffected by increasing temperature alone, but in combination with Mn enrichment, polyp pulsation was reduced by 20% (120 µg L -1 ) and 44% (260 µg L -1 ) over the last week at 32 °C, respectively. Corroborative semi-quantitative MRI measurements further indicated a higher Mn incorporation by X. umbellata compared to M. digitata , suggesting species-specific differences in trace metal accumulation. These findings emphasize the importance of species-specific differences in hard corals and other coral reef organisms, when assessing the potential of Mn enrichment as an intervention measure to increase heat resistance in hard corals.

Jellyfish, often primarily perceived by the public as a marine nuisance, represent an increasingly valuable and sustainable source of diverse biomolecules with significant potential for the biomedical sciences, in addition to their crucial ecological role within marine ecosystems. This review explores the properties, extraction and applications of key jellyfish-derived compounds, including collagen, peptides, sulfated polysaccharides, glycoproteins and venom components. The relevance of jellyfish as a bioresource is underscored by episodic bloom events in the Mediterranean, where species such as Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) have been reported in affected coastal areas. This review provides a critical synthesis of current advances in the extraction, characterization, and biotechnological exploitation of jellyfish-derived bioactive compounds, on ecologically and biotechnologically relevant Mediterranean species, which collectively represent accessible and high-impact targets for marine bioprospecting. Evidence from non-Mediterranean species is also discussed for comparative purposes to contextualize conserved biochemical features across different biogeographical regions. Among jellyfish-derived biomolecules, collagen emerges as the most technologically mature and translationally advanced compound, supported by reproducible extraction protocols, preserved triple-helical structure, cytocompatibility, and compatibility with pre-GMP manufacturing workflows. Recent studies further demonstrate that aquaculture-reared Cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775) may achieve collagen yields comparable to wild populations (~40–46%) while exhibiting enhanced antioxidant profiles, supporting the feasibility of controlled biofactory approaches. In contrast, peptides, sulfated polysaccharides, and venom components display promising biological activities but remain at earlier stages of technological readiness, requiring further standardization, structure–function elucidation, and regulatory development. Within circular and blue bioeconomy frameworks, jellyfish biomass—particularly from invasive or bloom-forming species such as C. andromeda —offers a concrete opportunity to unlock novel therapeutic solutions and advanced biomaterials, addressing critical unmet medical needs and offering a sustainable alternative to traditional biomedical resources.

Emodin supplementation could relieve the adverse impacts induced by a high plant-protein diet on intestinal health and growth performance of fish, while its application in Pengze crucian carp ( Carassius auratus var. Pengze) is lacking. Pengze crucian carp, an omnivorous fish, belongs to the freshwater Cyprinidae family. In this study, Pengze crucian carp were fed with a normal fishmeal diet (18% fishmeal, FM), a high plant-protein diet (4% fishmeal, HP), and four different emodin supplementation diets (HP diet supplemented with 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg kg −1 emodin); the feeding trial lasted 8 weeks. Compared with the FM group, the HP diet dramatically inhibited the growth performance of carp, while an appropriate addition of emodin could restore its growth performance. Emodin could improve carp morphology in terms of a higher value of the hepatosomatic index (HSI), the viserosomatic index (VSI), and the condition factor (CF), and increase the crude protein content concurrent with a lower crude lipid content in body compared with HP and FM groups. The HP diet induced the oxidative stress of carp, whereas emodin supplementation enhanced antioxidant parameters in serum and intestinal tissues together with a remarkable reduction of malondialdehyde content, thereby improving antioxidant status. The antioxidant property of emodin triggered the keap1-nrf2 signal pathway and then induced the overexpression of antioxidant genes ( cuznsod, cat , and gpx ) in intestinal tissue. Additionally, emodin attenuated the intestinal inflammation induced by the HP diet by suppressing the expression of pro-inflammatory-related factors ( tlr4, myd88, tnf-α, il-1β , and ifn-γ ) and upregulating anti-inflammatory-related factors ( tlr2, tgf-β , and il-10 ), followed by an improvement of the intestinal barrier function. Moreover, emodin supplementation could induce the transcriptional level of intestinal alkaline phosphatase ( iap ) through the pparγ-klf4 signal pathway and enhance IAP activity ultimately. In summary, a suitable amount of emodin can elevate the growth performance and improve the intestinal health of Pengze crucian carp fed a high plant-protein diet.