Coiba Island and the associated Special Zone of Marine Protection represent an important, yet poorly studied marine reserve along the Pacific coast of Panama. While efforts have recently began to establish monitoring programs in the region, a range of historical, marine-related environmental measurements already exist, derived from satellite-based observations. The goal of this paper was to use long-term datasets for key variables to provide qualitative insights (i.e. descriptive oceanography) of climatological conditions and interannual variability in the Pacific Panama region. These are underpinned with numerical assessments, providing an important baseline for ongoing and future studies, particularly in the Coiba Island/Gulf of Chiriqui region. In particular, we examined 20 years (January 2003-December 2022) of wind stress, sea surface temperature (SST), and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), spanning the neritic and pelagic regions of the Pacific Panama coast. During the dry season (northern winter), the well-known, seasonal, regional Panama wind jet appeared across the Gulf of Panama, leading to surface mixing and SST cooling that eventually extended across most of the Panama Bight. West of the Azuero Peninsula, SST increased and surface warming extended further offshore from January through April. The SST in the Gulf of Chiriqui during this period was about 1 °C warmer on average than east of Coiba Island. By July and August, offshore SST gradients became largely longitudinal, cooling occured across the season, and the SST on either side of Coiba Island was nearly the same. The influence of the Panama jet in the Gulf of Panama was clear in the Chl-a data as well, with upwelling-driven values peaking in February/March (up to 11 mg m-3, with a monthly climatological value of around 2 mg m-3 during this period). During the rest of the year, the Chl-a concentration in this region averaged around 0.5-1.0 mg m-3. In the Gulf of Chiriqui and the region east of Coiba Island, the climatological monthly averages were roughly 0.3-0.5 mg m-3 and 0.4-0.6 mg m-3, respectively. Somewhat surprisingly, very high Chl-a values were present in the satellite data for the Gulf of Chiriqui during May 2007 and June 2008, peaking at 16 mg m-3 and 32 mg m-3 at a location just west of Coiba Island, respectively. It remains unclear as to the cause of these apparent blooms. Even when the high Chl-a values were excluded in the calculation of climatological averages in the Gulf of Chiriqui, however, there is a suggestion of modest seasonality in Chl-a values, with slightly elevated values (~ 0.4 mg m-3) peaking around May and October. During the extreme El Niño event of 2015-2016, the monthly-averaged SST along the Panama Pacific coast was warmer than average, with elevated levels of up to + 2 °C and lasting 12 months in the Gulf of Chiriqui. In the Gulf of Panama, the monthly-averaged SST anomalies were up to + 1.7 °C, although the temperatures returned to near-seasonal averages after roughly 5 months.

Fish tissue samples from 203 adult individuals were collected in the main ports and markets of the Pacific coast of Panama. Molecular identification based on a cytochrome oxidase I gene segment of all species was verified by GENBANK reference sequences. A total of 34 species from 14 families (Ariidae, Caranjidae, Centropomidae, Gerreidae, Haemulidae, Lobotidae, Lutjanidae, Malacanthidae, Mugilidae, Scianidae, Scombridae, Serranidae, Sphyraenidae, Stromateidae) were identified at the species level from 164 sequences. Additionally, three Caribbean species were molecularly identified among the analyzed samples (Mycteroperca xenarcha, Paralonchurus brasilensis and Lobotes surinamensis). Species diversity was slightly higher in the Gulf of Panama than in the Gulf of Chiriquí. For species with five or more individual sequences, genetic diversity and genetic connectivity parameters such as total number of haplotypes (H), haplotype diversity (Hd), and nucleotide diversity (π) were calculated. Overall, pelagic-migratory species showed higher values of genetic diversity than coastal and estuarine species with some exceptions. Connectivity between Gulf areas was compared using values of genetic distances and genetic differentiation (Fst). The high level of connectivity observed between the Gulf of Chiriqui and the Gulf of Montijo indicates the existence of a single stock in that area for the following species: Scomberomorus sierra, Caranx caninus and Lutjanus guttatus. The demographic history of the most common species was examined using Tajima’s D values, suggesting population expansion for two snapper species, L. peru and L. argentiventris, having significant and higher values. Another important contribution from this research was the production of primers and dual-labeled probes for environmental DNA detection using qPCR for the five most abundant species (spotted rose snapper, yellow snapper, green jack, Pacific crevalle jack and the Pacific sierra fish). These markers represent a new set of tools for environmental DNA (eDNA) detection and molecular traceability of three commercially important fish species along the supply chain including landing sites and markets of the main fishery areas.

We report two species of sea anemones, Anthopleura nigrescens (Verrill, 1928) and Telmatactis panamensis (Verrill, 1869), for the first time from Parque Nacional Coiba, a large, protected area in the Pacific off Panama. In addition, we describe the external anatomical taxonomic characters and provide images of live specimens of each species. The number of sea anemones species known for Panama is updated to 57. This work constitutes the first study in the documentation of sea anemones of Coiba Island.

Genetic analysis of 111 samples from ceviche cocktails and fish fillets used for ceviche, obtained from fish markets and processing plants in the Pacific zone of Panama were conducted to determine species composition, trace origin (native, nonnative or imported frozen species) and CITES species status. A total of 21 species were detected (20 fishes and one invertebrate): Coryphaena hippurus (dolphin fish), Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (basa), Trachinotus falcatus (pompano), Cyclopsetta querna (toothed flounder), Atheresthes stomias (arrow-tooth flounder), Lobotes pacificus (Pacific tripletail), Bagre panamensis (Chihuil sea-catfish), B. bagre (Coco sea-catfish), Ariopsis seemanni (Tete sea-catfish), Aspistor luniscutis (yellow sea-catfish), Centropomus viridis (white snook), C. undecimalis (Union snook), Sphyrae naensis (Mexican barracuda), Oreochromis niloticus (Nile tilapia), O. mossambicus (Mozambique tilapia), Cynoscion praedatorius (Boccone weakfish), Protonibea diacanthus (blackspotted croaker), Gadus chalcogrammus (Alaska pollock), Sphyrna lewini (scalloped hammerhead shark), Makaira nigricans (blue marlin) and Dosidicus gigas (giant Humbolt squid). Native species found in ceviche samples were reduced in numbers compared with imported and cultivated ones. Thus, the most common detected fish species was basa, followed by the Nile tilapia and the dolphin fish. This is a positive result in terms of sustainability of local fisheries, since basa is imported as frozen fish meat from Asia. The same applies for Nile tilapia, a cultivated freshwater species not captured from local fisheries. For the dolphin fish, despite being common and exploited in Pacific waters, previous studies suggest its fishery is sustainable in Panama waters. In terms of conservation status, one species cataloged by IUCN as vulnerable (VU), the blue marlin (M. nigricans) and one as critically endangered (CR), the scalloped hammerhead shark (S. lewini) were detected. Sphyrae lewini is also catalog as CITES appendix II. The giant Humbolt squid (D. gigas), classified by IUCN as data deficient (DD), was the only invertebrate detected in samples obtained from a ceviche processing plant. Two sets of primers and dual labeled probes were designed for qPCR eDNA detection of the only CITES species, S. lewini. These represent the first qPCR markers for eDNA detection of S. lewini. Results from this project promote the sustainable use of fishery resources and might provide ceviche producers with a certificate from MarViva Foundation certifying that their ceviche is free of sharks or species threatened/protected by law, giving added value to their product. Molecular detection and molecular traceability are sensitive and species specific, what makes of this tool a reliable method to combat IUU (illegal, unreported and undocumented) fishing.