title: Gene-associated markers provide tools for tackling illegal fishing and false eco-certification.
abstract: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has had a major role in the overexploitation of global fish populations. In response, international regulations have been imposed and many fisheries have been 'eco-certified' by consumer organizations, but methods for independent control of catch certificates and eco-labels are urgently needed. Here we show that, by using gene-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, individual marine fish can be assigned back to population of origin with unprecedented high levels of precision. By applying high differentiation single nucleotide polymorphism assays, in four commercial marine fish, on a pan-European scale, we find 93-100% of individuals could be correctly assigned to origin in policy-driven case studies. We show how case-targeted single nucleotide polymorphism assays can be created and forensically validated, using a centrally maintained and publicly available database. Our results demonstrate how application of gene-associated markers will likely revolutionize origin assignment and become highly valuable tools for fighting illegal fishing and mislabelling worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Section for Population Ecology and Genetics, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Vejlsøvej 39, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark. een@aqua.dtu.dk
authors.forename: Einar E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cariani
authors.forename: Eoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mac Aoidh
authors.forename: Gregory E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ogden
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hemmer-Hansen
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babbucci
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bargelloni
authors.forename: Dorte
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bekkevold
authors.forename: Eveline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diopere
authors.forename: Leonie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grenfell
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helyar
authors.forename: Morten T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Limborg
authors.forename: Jann T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Martinsohn
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McEwing
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panitz
authors.forename: Tomaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Patarnello
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tinti
authors.forename: Jeroen K J
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Van Houdt
authors.forename: Filip A M
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Volckaert
authors.forename: Robin S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Waples
authors.forename: Jan E J
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Albin
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vieites Baptista
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Barmintsev
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bautista
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bendixen
authors.forename: Jean-Pascal
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bergé
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blohm
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cardazzo
authors.forename: Amalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diez
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Espiñeira
authors.forename: Audrey J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Geffen
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Nerea
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: González-Lavín
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guarniero
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jeráme
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kochzius
authors.forename: Grigorius
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krey
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mouchel
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Negrisolo
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piccinetti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puyet
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rastorguev
authors.forename: Jane P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trentini
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Verrez-Bagnis
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volkov
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zanzi
authors.forename: Gary R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004463:Ecology; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*