Implications for fish conservation and management in the ECS-CZA
Our findings presented reliable information on fish eggs and larvae that could facilitate various marine resources management efforts and conservation strategies. Accurate identification tools must be used for environmental monitoring programs due to concerns for managing and conservating declining fish stocks. The eggs and larvae for fish species identified and characterized in the present study are all economically important and valuable species (L. croceus , T. lepturus ,P. argenteus , L. japonicus , and S. japonicus ). They are critical sources for food and protein, commercialization, and sport fishing. For the sustainability of the adjacent ecosystems, due to over-exploitation and economic value, this information will help managers monitor and revise the current plan already in place to conserve the species in the East China Sea’s coastal ecosystems.
Since the ECS-CZA hosts massive marine fish production and many resources, it is the largest and most important regional and international fishing ground. With so much ongoing shoreline and shallow sea construction and modification, uncontrolled pollution emission, and over-exploitation of fishery resources, the coastal marine life, ecosystems, and even human communities will be harmed. Conclusions about the management and preservation of fish species and the coastal marine environment inferred from our findings will be useful. Our study offers useful tools and critical scientific data that may be used to understand the taxonomic status, variety, recruitment, and distribution of fish species for eggs and larvae in coastal waters. In addition, the discovery of previously unknown species offers strong support for the importance of integrated strategy of morphology and COI DNA barcoding and ecological efforts.
Author contributions: RJ and YC contributed to the study conception and design. RY and YZ performed material preparation and data collection. MTM and ZL performed data analyses. The manuscript was written by MTM, RJ and YC. All the authors read and agreed to the final version of the manuscript.
Funding : This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant/Award Numbers: 2018YFD0900903 and 2018YFD0900904) and Zhejiang Ocean University Independent Voyage for Sophisticated Ocean Front and Fisheries Investigation (SOPHI).
Data Availability Statement : COI DNA sequences: GenBank accessions MZ461989-MZ462037.
Acknowledgments : We thank James Lusana of University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for his critical and insightful comments on the manuscript and Lusubilo Austine Kayange for his assistance in data collection.
Ethics Statement: All fish species were caught in the offshore area (not national parks, other protected areas, nor private areas, etc.), so no specific permissions were required for these locations/activities. Ethical approval was not required for this study because no endangered or protected fish species were involved. Specimen collection and maintenance were performed in strict accordance with the recommendations of Animal Care Quality Assurance in China.
Conflict of Interest : The co-authors have no conflict of interest to declare.