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.