<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Historically, two angel shark species, common angel shark <italic>Squatina squatina</italic> and smoothback angel shark <italic>Squatina oculata</italic>, were common in the upper continental shelf of the eastern Adriatic Sea. Although both species are considered critically endangered in the Adriatic and the rest of the world, there are almost no data on the current status of populations, threat assessment and species-specific in-situ conservation. Common angel shark is still present in highly fragmented areas of the eastern Adriatic with extremely rare but consistent records, while smoothback angel shark is mostly considered regionally extinct in the Adriatic due to overfishing and overuse of non-selective fishing gear. There have been only 3 published records of common angel shark this century, the last two of which were reported by fishermen. This paper presents data on 34 new finds, including neonates, juveniles, subadults and adults recorded between January 2020 and August 2021 in the Zadar-Šibenik archipelago (central Adriatic) and one in Premantura (northern Adriatic). Two are original findings during the field expedition, 9 were reported directly by local fishermen, while 23 were reported through a detailed questionnaire. Additionally, plausible breeding and/or nursery grounds between Zadar and Šibenik are discussed with their importance for revitalization and long-term conservation in situ.
</abstract>

New Hope for the Critically Endangered Common Angel Shark <italic>Squatina squatina</italic> in the Adriatic Sea

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Along with growing consumer awareness about the impact of food on health, there is a trend towards increasing fresh fish consumption. At the same time, the demand for organic food is increasing in the modern market. Although fruits, vegetables and nuts have the biggest share in the organic food market in Europe, the aquaculture production of organic fish is also growing. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to explore the knowledge and perception of Croatian consumers about fresh fish from organic farming. An online and face-to-face survey was conducted on a sample of 303 respondents. Data analysis (univariate and bivariate) was performed using SPSS Statistics for Windows. Most consumers have medium and low subjective knowledge about fresh fish from organic farming, and objective knowledge about fresh fish from organic farming is low. Only half of the consumers are aware that they can buy fresh fish from organic farming in the domestic market. Half of the consumers have already consumed fresh organic fish, and half are willing to pay a higher price for fresh fish from organic farming. Compared to fresh fish from conventional farming, respondents consider fresh organic fish to be healthier, tastier and to have less fat, but also more expensive and less available.
</abstract>

University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture

Department of Fisheries, Apiculture, Wildlife Management and Special Zoology

Consumer Knowledge and Perception about Fresh Fish from Organic Farming in Croatia

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Evidence from the last two centuries has identified changes in the biodiversity of the Mediterranean basin triggered by the arrival of new species. Compared to the central and northern areas, the southern part of the Adriatic Sea, specifically the Albanian coast, has been less studied. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of new/non-native fish species on the north Albanian coast in order to provide the first data on their presence. Data collection was carried out from March to August 2019 using LEK (Local Ecological Knowledge) protocol in five different locations along the northern part of the Albanian coast. The research followed a predefined methodology previously successfully applied in different countries of the Mediterranean basin by using a semi-structured questionnaire. During this study, 9 new and non-native species were recognized by the fishers, while only 5 of them have shown an evident abundance increase based on their respective catches in recent years. Results suggest that some of the analyzed species, such as blue crab <italic>Callinectes sapidus</italic> and bluefish <italic>Pomatomus saltatrix,</italic> represent important members of the fish fauna in north Albania coastal waters (including the lagoons). Future studies regarding the assessment of their impact and management strategies are highly recommended.
</abstract>

Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment

Tracking Changes in Fish Diversity in the South-Eastern Adriatic Sea (Albania) Based on Local Ecological Knowledge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The lack of reliable fisheries statistics hampers full assessment of the status of marine resources. Central to this problem are data-poor fisheries such as the Albanian seas and in particular the SSF sector. The present study aims to portray the small-scale fishery of south Albanian waters based on daily onboard monitoring of fisheries species catches during a two-year period (2016-2018). Results revealed a total of 6 and 11 fishing métiers for the nets and longlines, respectively. The most important target species for nets in terms of catches were <italic>Merluccius merluccius</italic>, <italic>Mullus surmuletus</italic>, <italic>Pagellus erythrinus</italic>, <italic>Sepia officinalis</italic> and <italic>Solea vulgaris</italic>. Longline fisheries were categorized into two distinct fishing métiers, one targeting the large pelagics <italic>Thunnus thynnus</italic> and <italic>Xiphias gladius,</italic> and the other targeting a wide range of Sparidae species and <italic>Epinephelus marginatus</italic>. The data and analysis presented here aim to reduce the current lack of quantitative data on a fisheries data-limited case such as the Albanian small-scale fishery and to provide information for developing monitoring for this fishery.
</abstract>

Department of Animal Production, Fisheries & Aquaculture

Typology of the Albanian Small-Scale Fisheries

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Underwater visual census (UVC) is a commonly used approach for assessing fish density and biomass. Iskenderun Bay, comprising the Samandağ coast in Turkey, is the most important introduction pathway of alien species in the northeastern Mediterranean. In this study, the density, abundance, distribution and interaction of invasive lionfish or devil firefish <italic>Pterois miles</italic> were assessed using the UVC method on the Samandağ coast. The total transect area monitored on the Samandağ coast was 4.500 m2. Species richness, Shannon’s diversity index and rate of biomass were 25, 1.81 and 73.5 m2, respectively. Reduced diversity was observed with increasing depths. The sandy seafloor was a limiting factor for lionfish distribution. There was a significant positive correlation between lionfish total density and both the Shannon diversity index (r = 0.99, P&lt;0.001) and Shannon evenness index (r = 0.99, P&lt;0.05). A high number of significant positive correlations (P&lt;0.05) were detected between the occurrence of lionfish and the occurrence of both the native species and other alien species. The first stock assessment study of lionfish by the UVC method in Turkish marine waters revealed that native species are under very high pressure from lionfish species, especially Chromis, Sparids and Wrasses, indicating negative effects of lionfish on regional native biodiversity.
</abstract>

Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory

Preliminary Assessment of Invasive Lionfish <italic>Pterois miles</italic> Using Underwater Visual Census Method in the Northeastern Mediterranean

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Croatian Journal of Fisheries

 The Croatian Journal of Fisheries was established in 1938 and today possesses a long-term tradition of publishing papers that deal with both freshwater and marine fisheries. Areas covered by the Journal include ichthyology, aquaculture, ecology and diseases of fish and other aquatic organisms, problems of open waters and other topics related to the fisheries field.  Prior to publication, articles pass through rigorous review by senior scientists from around the world. The Journal features articles that reflect original research, interpretative content and subject matter of interest to the fisheries profession. The journal owner Faculty of Agriculture (FAZ) University of Zagreb, founded in 1919, is the leading higher education and scientific institution in the field of agriculture and related sciences in the Republic of Croatia, occupying an important position within the country's educational, scientific and research system. The FAZ organization is based on 28 departments with 417 members of the staff and 6 experimental stations.  The Croatian Journal of Fisheries (CJF) is committed to real and immediate open access for academic work. All of the CJF’s articles are free to access immediately from the date of publication. There are no author charges (APCs) prior to publication, and no charge for any reader to download articles and reviews for their own scholarly use. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author (see Copyright). This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. To facilitate this the CJF depends upon the financial underwriting provided by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, Faculty of Agriculture, Croatian Chamber of Economy, journal subscribers, the goodwill of its editorial team and the continuing support of its network of peer reviewers.  Copyright:  Commercial distribution of journal articles in any form (printed or digital) is strictly forbidden. All published content in CJF is licensed under Creative commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 licence. Authors of articles published in CJF retain the copyright of their articles and they are free to reproduce and disseminate their work under the terms of the Creative commons Attribution which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.  Why subscribe and read:  CJF is an English-language (additional abstract in Croatian language) peer-reviewed quarterly journal, publishing original research papers from the wide area of fisheries. It contains editorials, original scientific papers, preliminary and short communications, review papers, professional papers and supplements to fishing profession authored by researchers from all over the world, who appreciate fast, fair and constructive peer review provided by experts in the field of our profile. CJF reviewers have prompt and rapid response to the authors according to the schedule. At the time of paper submission, author will get unique paper ID and can check their paper status online. Also, CJF has simple and standard Template which can ease the submission procedure.  Why submit:  By submitting manuscripts in Croatian Journal of Fisheries authors can rely on fast peer review process and thorough editing by sector experts. CJF changed the Editorial Board to the Associate Editors system. In this way papers are more rigorously reviewed and the reviewing process is much faster. Consequently, the published papers are of much better quality.  Rejection rate:   30%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Croatian Journal of Fisheries

Volume 80 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

New Hope for the Critically Endangered Common Angel Shark Squatina squatina in the Adriatic Sea

Consumer Knowledge and Perception about Fresh Fish from Organic Farming in Croatia

Tracking Changes in Fish Diversity in the South-Eastern Adriatic Sea (Albania) Based on Local Ecological Knowledge

Typology of the Albanian Small-Scale Fisheries

Preliminary Assessment of Invasive Lionfish Pterois miles Using Underwater Visual Census Method in the Northeastern Mediterranean

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