This study explores methods to estimate minimum drift times of ghost nets found in the Maldives with the aim of identifying a putative origin. We highlight that percentage cover of biofouling organisms and capitulum length of Lepas anatifera are two methods that provide these estimates. Eight ghost nets were collected in the Maldives and estimated drift times ranged between 7.5 and 101 days. Additionally, Lagrangian simulations identified drift trajectories of 326 historical ghost nets records. Purse seine fisheries (associated with Korea, Mauritius, the Philippines, Spain, France and Seychelles) and gill nets from Sri Lanka were identified as 'high risk' fisheries with regard to likley origins of ghost nets drifting into the Maldives. These fisheries are active in areas where dense particle clusters occured (drift trajectories between 30 and 120 days). Interestingly, ghost nets drifting less than 30 days however, remained inside the exclusive economic zone of the Maldivian archipelago highlighting potential illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity is occuring in this area.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/puromycin-aminonucleoside.html  This study therefore points to the urgent need for gear loss reporting to be undertaken, especially by purse seine and gill net fisheries in order to ascertain the source of this major threat to marine life. This should also be coupled with an improvment in the data focused on spatial distribution of the abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear originating from both large- and small-scale fisheries. The presence of chemicals in marine organisms is an important issue for human health due to the growing rate of seafood consumption. Potential exposure to seven bisphenol analogues through seafood consumption was investigated in some popular seafood from the Persian Gulf. Bisphenols were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol B (BPB) were the first and second most common bisphenols in the studied samples, respectively. The highest levels of BPA (mean 13.58 ± 5.70 μg/kg.dw) and BPB (mean 10.30 ± 7.98 μg/kg.dw) were found in E.coioides species. Bisphenol F and bisphenol AF were detected only in P. armatus and L. klunzingeri, respectively. Trophic transfer investigation demonstrated that BPA and BPB were biomagnified in the studied organisms through their diet. The eco-toxicity and estrogenic risk assessment indicated that seafood consumption does not pose a health threat to consumers. However, routine monitoring of bisphenols in seafood seems to be necessary to ensure food safety. Infrared spectrometry (IR) became a workhorse to characterize microplastics (MPs) worldwide. However, reports on the experimental conditions to measure them decreased alarmingly. As complete, relevant information on the instrumental setup determining IR spectra is crucial for scientific reproducibility, ca. 50% of the papers that reported FTIR to measure MPs were evaluated and it was found that most studies cannot be replicated due to missing experimental details. To ameliorate this, the most critical parameters influencing IR spectra are depicted, their impact when matching a spectrum against databases exemplified, and, following efforts from other scientific fields, a minimum information for publication of IR-related data on MPs characterization (MIPIR-MP) is proposed, along with a brief, simple paragraph to resume the most critical information to be reported. This can be used to improve the worrying figures that point out to a reproducibility crisis in the field, as disclosed by the survey. Functional diversity can reflect the overall differences in functional traits and indicate their response to environmental disturbance. Macrofaunal feeding functional groups and functional diversity were studied in the adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary. The detritivorous group had the highest species number, abundance and secondary productivity while the canivorous group had the highest biomass. Pearson correlation analysis showed that functional evenness was negatively correlated with species number and Shannon-Wiener index. Functional divergence was negatively correlated with Simpson dominance index. Functional dispersion was positively correlated with species evenness, Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson dominance index. High values of functional diversity mainly cooccurred with high species diversity, uniform trait distribution and small niche overlap, indicating weak interspecific competition and high resources utilization. The dominant species were miniaturized and their biological traits analysis indicated that the study area has been disturbed for long time, resulting in the decline of the benthic ecosystem stability. A preliminary report on the abundance of microplastic in the coastal waters in the depth zone 5 to 20 m in the surface waters, sediment and in selected fishes occurring off Kochi, India is presented. Spatial and temporal variation in microplastic abundance was observed with higher abundance in surface water indicating threats to pelagic ecosystem. The relative concentration of microplastic was highest during monsoon season. The major microplastics were fragments of 1-5 mm in white and blue colours. Gut content analysis of 16 species (653 individuals) comprising pelagic (8 species) and demersal (8 species) indicated occurrence (4.6%) of microplastics (fragment>filament>pellet) of size 0.27mm to 3.2 mm in Sardinella longiceps, S. gibbosa, Stolephorus indicus Rastrelliger kanagurta and Cyanoglossus macrostomus. Raman spectroscopy indicated that Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) were the polymer types of microplastics from the fish gut. Impulsive sounds generated during seismic surveys have elicited behavioral responses in marine mammals and could cause hearing impairment or injury. Mitigating exposure to seismic sound often relies on real-time marine mammal detection. Detection performance is influenced by detection method, environmental conditions, and observer experience. We conducted a field comparison of real-time detections made by marine mammal observers (MMOs), a rotating infrared (IR) camera, and via passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). Data were collected from a 38 m research vessel offshore Atlantic Canada. Our results indicate that overall detection rates increase when complementary methods are used. MMOs and PAM are likely the most effective combination during high seas and precipitation. PAM and IR can be used in darkness. In good visibility, MMOs with IR or PAM should increase detections. Our results illustrate the importance of addressing false positive IR detections, matching system capabilities to sea conditions/species of interest, and employing experienced observers.