Search results for "Swordfish"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Exposure to mercury among 9-year-old Spanish children: Associated factors and trend throughout childhood
2019
Mercury is considered a neurotoxicant and human exposure occurs mainly from the consumption of marine species. We aimed to describe total mercury concentrations (THg) and associated factors in 9-year old children, as well as to explore the trend in THg from 4 to 9 years of age. The study population consisted of 9-year-old children participating in the INMA (Environment and Childhood) birth cohort study in Valencia, Spain (n = 405, 2013–2014). THg in hair samples was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry at the age of 4 and 9 years. Sociodemographic and dietary data was obtained through questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the association between THg and covari…
Exposure to mercury among Spanish preschool children: Trend from birth to age four
2013
The purpose of this study is to describe the total hair mercury concentrations and their determinants in preschool Spanish children, as well as to explore the trend in mercury exposure from birth to the age four. This evolution has been scarcely studied in other birth cohort studies. The study population was 580 four year old children participating in the INMA (i.e. Childhood and Environment) birth cohort study in Valencia (2008–2009). Total mercury concentration at age four was measured in hair samples by atomic absorption spectrometry. Fish consumption and other covariates were obtained by questionnaire. Multivariate linear regression models were conducted in order to explore the associat…
Neglected fishery data sources as indicators of pre‐industrial ecological properties of Mediterranean swordfish ( Xiphias gladius , Xiphiidae)
2022
Management of fish populations and ecosystems suffers from data and knowledge gaps, particularly with respect to how humans and nature affect dynamics at multi-decadal and longer time scales. However, collection of new data which indicates population or ecosystem status is slow and expensive. Here we analyse c. 110 years of neglected fishery data for an overexploited top predator, swordfish, in the Mediterranean Sea. These data are available at scales of high time–space–biological resolution (i.e., sub-weekly, sub-regional sea; individual weights) and allow different ecological questions to be addressed than is possible with coarsely scaled data (e.g., annually resolved total catches aggreg…
Assessment of metal levels in foodstuffs from the Region of Valencia (Spain).
2017
Graphical abstract
Probabilistic risk assessment of the exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers via fish and seafood consumption in the Region of Valencia (Spain)
2013
The study was carried out to estimate the dietary intake of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Region of Valencia (Spain) in order to evaluate the resultant risk. The PBDE levels in fish and seafood (a total of 206 samples) were determined. Dietary intake was estimated using results of PBDE analyses in fish and seafood marketed in the Region of Valencia over the period 2007-2012 and data of the first Valencian Food Consumption Survey, conducted in 2010. Two scenarios were assumed for left-censored results: the lower-bound (LB) scenario, in which unquantified results (below the limit of quantification (LOQ)) were set to zero and the upper-bound (UB) scenario, in which unquantified…
Mercury and selenium in fish and shellfish: Occurrence, bioaccessibility and uptake by Caco-2 cells
2012
This study evaluates Hg and Se concentrations and bioaccessibility (element solubilised after simulated gastrointestinal digestion) in 16 raw seafood species consumed in Spain. The concentrations varied greatly (Hg, 3.8-1621 ng/g wet weight, ww; Se, 84-1817 ng/g ww). Only one sample of swordfish exceeded the Hg limit permitted in Spain (1mg/kg), and for this sample the Hg/Se molar ratio and Se Health Benefit Value food safety criteria also indicated the presence of a risk. Bioaccessibility of Hg (35-106%) and Se (17-125%) was very variable and the Hg/Se molar ratio in the bioaccessible fraction was less than one for all samples. Transport by Caco-2 cells, an intestinal epithelium model, was…
Aggressive interactions between juvenile swordfishes and blue sharks in the Western Mediterranean: a widespread phenomenon?
2019
There are numerous reports of billfishes spearing objects, marine organisms, and even humans. Whether or not this behaviour is intentional and, if so, what is its functional meaning, are open questions. In 2016, an adult blue shark (Prionace glauca) was found to be killed by a juvenile swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the western Mediterranean. Here we report on three more recent cases involving both species in the same area. In February 2017, an adult male blue shark was found stranded in Garrucha (Spain) with a fragment of a juvenile swordfish’s rostrum (18cm long x 2cm wide at proximal end) inserted in its cranium. In March 2017, an adult pregnant female blue shark was stranded alive on th…
New historical data for long-term swordfish ecological studies in the Mediterranean Sea
2021
Abstract. Management of marine fisheries and ecosystems is constrained by knowledge based on datasets with limited temporal coverage. Many populations and ecosystems were perturbed long before scientific investigations began. This situation is particularly acute for the largest and commercially most valuable species. We hypothesized that historical trap fishery records for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus, 1758) could contain catch data and information for other, bycatch species, such as swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758). This species has a long history of exploitation and is presently overexploited, yet indicators of its status (biomass) used in fishery management only start…
Deadly impalement of a blue shark Prionace glauca by a swordfish Xiphias gladius
2017
In September, 2016, an adult female blue shark (Prionace glauca) 247 cm long stranded alive on the coast of Valencia (Spain, Western Mediterranean) but died shortly afterwards. The necropsy revealed ongoing pregnancy, with 65 embryos in early stage of development, and a healthy condition with no signs of starvation. Two fishing hooks surrounded by scarred tissue were detected in the mandible, indicating past interaction with fisheries. In addition, a fragment of the tip of a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) rostrum (length: 18 cm long, width: 0.5 cm (distal) and 3 cm (proximal)) was removed from the animal. The fragment had pierced the head producing an incision of 3.5 cm close to the left eye, …