Fish and Fisheries · 2008 · 170 citations · 65 references
Natural ResourcesFisheriesGeneticsFish GeneticsFisheries BiologyFisheries ManagementFisheries ComplianceFisheries EnforcementFisheries GeneticsForensic EvidenceIllegal FishingUnregulated FishingDna Species IdentificationFisheries Law EnforcementIllegal Fishing TraceabilityIuu Fishing DetectionIuu Fishing EnforcementRandom Amplified Polymorphic Dna MarkersUnregulated Fishing TraceabilityUnreported Fishing Traceability
Traceability of fish and fish products is increasingly required for consumer protection and regulatory enforcement, especially to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a major obstacle to sustainable fisheries, and genetic markers offer a potential tool for species and population identification to support investigations and deter fraud. This review examines the development and application of non‑human forensic genetic techniques for species identification, population assignment, and supply chain traceability in global fisheries. It discusses key challenges in translating academic research into validated forensic methods, including differences in data production and interpretation, and highlights how the rapid growth of genomic data could improve spatial resolution of fish stocks while noting biological and practical constraints. The review concludes that although expanding genomic datasets promise finer spatial resolution for fish stock identification, biological and practical limitations currently limit the effectiveness of DNA markers for fisheries enforcement.
Abstract There is an increasing requirement for traceability of fish and fish products, both for consumer protection and for regulatory enforcement, in particular with respect to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing is a serious global problem and one of the main impediments to the achievement of sustainable world fisheries. Genetic markers are used for the identification of species and populations in fisheries biology and can potentially also be used to support investigations and deter IUU fishing and food fraud. This review examines the development and application of non‐human forensic genetic techniques for the purposes of species identification, population assignment and supply chain traceability in world fisheries. Key issues in the transfer from academic research to validated forensic methods are presented highlighting differences in how data are produced and interpreted. The rapid increase in genomic data production and subsequent future potential for greater spatial resolution of fish stocks is discussed alongside the biological and practical limitations of using DNA markers for fisheries enforcement.
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Forensic application of DNA ‘fingerprints’
Peter Gill, Alec J. Jeffreys, David J. Werrett · Nature · 1985 · 1.2K citations