Rui P. Vieira

The deep-sea fish Kali macrodon : a new record for the tropical eastern Atlantic off Cape Verde

rui pedro vieira, ralf thiel, bernd christiansen, rui coelho, anneke denda and jorge manuel dos santos gonc‚alves CCMAR—Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal, Present address: CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal, University of Hamburg, Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany, University of Hamburg, Institut fur Hydrobiologie und Fischereiwissenschaft, Grose Elbstrase 133, 22767 Hamburg, Germany, CCMAR— Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

First record of the deep-water whalefish Cetichthys indagator (Actinopterygii: Cetomimidae) in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The whalefish Cetichthys indagator is reported for the first time in the North Atlantic Ocean. This record increases to five the number of specimens ever caught and represents the northernmost occurrence of this species in the northern hemisphere.

Deep-sea crustacean trawling fisheries in Portugal: quantification of effort and assessment of landings per unit effort using a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

Mapping and quantifying bottom trawling fishing pressure on the seafloor is pivotal to understand its effects on deep-sea benthic habitats. Using data from the Vessel Monitoring System of crustacean trawlers along the Portuguese margin, we have identified the most exploited areas and characterized the most targeted habitats and water depths. We estimated a total trawling effort of 69596, 66766, and 63427 h y−1 for the years 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively which, considering the total landings estimated for this gear, yield values of 20.76, 21.06, and 19.11 kg of landed fish per trawled hour. The main trawling pressure is exerted in the South and Southwest Portuguese margins, on muddy and muddy-sand bottoms between 200 and 700 m water depths, while in the North and Central-West coasts a minor effort, at shallower waters and across a wider range of habitats, is also applied. The most landed species are crustaceans such as rose shrimp and Norway lobster, although this varies importantly between the different regions of Portugal, being fish and cephalopods the main captures in the Northern ports. We discuss the consequences of trawling for the impacted communities as well as the characteristics of the commercialization of these captures in Portugal.

Deep-sea fishes from Senghor Seamount and the adjacent abyssal plain (Eastern Central Atlantic)

Senghor Seamount is an important fishing ground around the Cape Verde archipelago in the Eastern Central Atlantic. On an experimental field survey in October 2009 and December 2011, a total of 115 deep-sea fishes of 26 species belonging to 18 families were caught on the seamount summit, along the slopes and on the adjacent abyssal plane, using longlines, fish traps, beam trawl and otter trawl. Here we report seven new records for the Cape Verde deep-sea fish fauna. Most species are known from other areas of the Atlantic Ocean, but our findings are an important contribution to our understanding of the distribution of deep-water fish species. The co-occurrence of northern and southern Atlantic ichthyofauna components at Senghor Seamount, and the Cape Verde area in general, can be attributed to the large-scale hydrographic regime with two water masses merging at the Cape Verde Frontal Zone, the North Atlantic Central Water and the South Atlantic Central Water.

Are weight, length and amount of venom related in scorpionfish?

We are investigating an evident relationship among weight, length and the amount of glandular venom tissue collected from the dorsal spines of a scorpionfish species. The Scorpaenidae Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus is considered dangerous and has been associated with accidents involving humans, mostly fishermen (1). While these descriptions have been widely reported, data on venoms from northeastern Atlantic species are scarce. Preliminary findings from this ongoing study suggest a positive but non-significant correlation between the animal size and the quantity and density of toxins produced. Moreover, although the size of the spines is inversely proportional to the size of individuals, it is the largest fish that has longer spines, and therefore probably causes more severe injuries. The bluemouth rockfish is a species of high commercial value and it is expected that artisanal fishermen constitute the largest risk group, which corroborates our observations that most accidents occur by negligent handling of hooked fish. Symptom intensity varies according to the fish size and the quantity of injected venom. Consequently, accidents involving humans could represent significant economic and health problems. Therefore, it is important to perform further studies on this subject to improve the knowledge on bioactive toxins of these venoms, which may advance therapeutic techniques (2). The present text also represents the first statement on the venomous glandular tissue of a Scorpaenidae species from the northeastern Atlantic.