This bibliographic study addresses key aspects related to fishing, product safety, and climate change in the Adriatic Sea region. The examination of product safety focuses on the assessment of contaminants originating from human activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, and household waste disposal. The contamination of the aquatic environment has emerged as a pressing global concern, extending to the Adriatic basin. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are prone to accumulating pollutants directly from polluted water sources and indirectly through the food web. The bio-accumulation of potentially hazardous substances, particularly heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and antibiotic resistance in aquatic organisms, poses a significant threat to human health. Climate change effects will deplete our seafood supply in terms of quantity and safety owing to negative consequences such as higher levels of pollution, parasites, viruses, infections, acidification, and toxicities such as shellfish poisoning. Global food safety strategies should be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly technology, which indirectly affects seafood quality and microbiological safety, especially for the Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the most polluted waters in the world.

The meagre Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801) is a promising aquaculture species that shows reproductive dysfunctions when reared in tanks. The aim of this study was to assess the capacity of meagre, reared in cages under routine farming conditions, to mature gonads and reproduce spontaneously. Meagre adults, reared in a fish farm located in the Gulf of Taranto (Italy), were sampled from March to July 2021. The gonadosomatic index and sex steroid plasma concentrations increased from March–April to June, and then decreased in July. In March–April, most of the females showed perinucleolar or cortical alveoli oocytes as the most advanced stages in the ovaries, and most of the males had testes at early spermatogenesis stage. In June, most of the sampled females had oocytes at late vitellogenesis or early post-vitellogenesis stages, and males had seminiferous tubules filled with spermatozoa. In July, most of the females had signs of previous spawning, and males showed scarce amounts of luminal spermatozoa. The present study demonstrated the capacity of meagre, reared in sea cages under commercial conditions, to carry out gametogenesis and spontaneously release gametes. Meagre reproduction, under routine farming conditions, may represent an opportunity for the expansion of meagre aquaculture production.

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758), is a critically endangered species with a complex life cycle affected by many environmental factors. Its high flexibility in several biological parameters emphasizes the need for regional management strategies. To support management and population modeling, a study was conducted on the age, growth, and other biological characteristics of eels in a coastal lagoon—this being the first study of its kind conducted in the southwest of the Adriatic Sea for the European eel to date. A total of 435 silver eels were collected from commercial catches in the Karavasta Lagoon, Albania, at the start of their migratory journey from 2022 to 2024. The length–weight relationships revealed distinct growth patterns for both males (b = 2.8) and females (b = 2.7), indicating negative allometric growth. The ages of silver eels ranged from 4 to 11 years, with males averaging 6.2 years and females 7.0 years, the latter being significantly older. Throughout their lives in the lagoon, females also exhibited a higher mean annual growth in length (6.4 cm) compared to males (5.7 cm). Swim bladders of all eels were free from infection with Anguillicola crassus, a common and widespread nematode parasite. These results offer important insights into eel population dynamics in transitional waters and form the basis for conservation efforts in Adriatic Sea ecosystems. These data are vital for creating sustainable management strategies, mainly due to the decline in eel populations.

This bibliographic study addresses key aspects related to fishing, product safety, and climate change in the Adriatic Sea region. The examination of product safety focuses on the assessment of contaminants originating from human activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, and household waste disposal. The contamination of the aquatic environment has emerged as a pressing global concern, extending to the Adriatic subbasin. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are prone to accumulating pollutants directly from polluted water sources and indirectly through the food web. The bio-accumulation of potentially hazardous substances, particularly heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and antibiotic resistance in aquatic organisms, poses a significant threat to human health. Climate change effects will deplete our seafood supply in terms of quantity and safety owing to negative consequences such as higher levels of pollution, parasites, viruses, infections, acidification, and toxicities such as shellfish poisoning. Global food safety strategies should be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly technology, which indirectly affects seafood quality and microbiological safety, especially for Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the most polluted waters in the world.

Cyprinids include some of the most widely farmed freshwater species. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of skeletal malformations in carp species reared in semi-intensive systems in Albania: common carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis). The common carp fingerlings had a mean total length of 28.9 ± 5.0 mm; the frequencies of individuals with at least one anomaly and at least one severe anomaly were 79.2% and 43.4%, respectively. The silver carp juveniles had a mean total length of 21.6 ± 2.1 mm; the frequencies of individuals with at least one anomaly and one severe anomaly were 93.1% and 57.5%, respectively. The grass carp fry had a mean total length of 33.5 ± 2.6 mm; all the analyzed specimens showed almost one anomaly and 86.4% showed at least one severe anomaly. The bighead carp juveniles had a mean total length of 34.4 ± 5.7 mm; the frequencies of individuals with at least one anomaly and at least one severe anomaly were 95.0% and 62.5%, respectively. The development of a more suitable feeding protocol for herbivorous species and the setting up of more efficient broodstock management protocols are suggested to reduce the high incidence of skeletal malformations.

Marine ecosystems can undergo abrupt changes due to the interaction between human activities and environmental drivers. These changes can result in a non-linear response, causing the system to shift to a different state, known as a regime shift. Such shifts imply changes in the structure, dynamics and functioning of ecosystems, ultimately impacting on the services they provide to humans. Additionally, such abrupt changes can have serious implications for the effectiveness of management measures, hindering the sustainable exploitation of marine resources and affecting their overall well-being. In our study, we adopted a multi-method approach to test for abrupt changes in Adriatic Sea fishery landings over five decades (1970–2020) and their potential connection with climate change. The ensemble of statistical changepoint analyses applied here identified that the fish community experienced an instability period during the 1990s under the influence of a changing climate, as indicated by significant correlations between fish landings and climate indices. Our study reveals important insights into the development of Adriatic Sea fishery landings under climate change and provides important knowledge for decision-making, sustainable fishery management and preserving the biodiversity and economic viability of the fishery.