Gene-associated markers provide tools for tackling illegal fishing and false eco-certification

Einar Eg Nielsen, Alessia Cariani, Eoin Mac Aoidh, Gregory E Maes, Ilaria Milano, Rob Ogden, Martin Taylor, Jakob Hemmer Hansen, Massimiliano Babbucci, Luca Bargelloni, Dorte Bekkevold, Eveline Diopere, Leonie Grenfell, Sarah Helyar, Morten T Limborg, Jann T Martinsohn, Ross McEwing, Frank Panitz, Tomaso Patarnello, Fausto TintiJeroen K J Van Houdt, Filip A M Volckaert, Robin S Waples, Jan E J Albin, Juan M Vieites Baptista, Vladimir Barmintsev, José M Bautista, Christian Bendixen, Jean-Pascal Bergé, Dietmar Blohm, Barbara Cardazzo, Amalia Diez, Montserrat Espiñeira, Audrey J Geffen, Elena Gonzalez, Nerea González-Lavín, Ilaria Guarniero, Marc Jeráme, Marc Kochzius, Grigorius Krey, Olivier Mouchel, Enrico Negrisolo, Corrado Piccinetti, Antonio Puyet, Sergey Rastorguev, Jane P Smith, Massimo Trentini, Véronique Verrez-Bagnis, Alexander Volkov, Antonella Zanzi, Gary R Carvalho

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalNature Communications
Volume3
Pages (from-to)Article no. 851
ISSN2041-1723
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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