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With the decline of many of the world's fisheries, increased regulation, including marine protected areas (MPA), forms an increasingly important role in promoting sustainable resource use. Here, we present a novel "real-time" genetic monitoring programme used to protect the depleted Norwegian coastal cod stock (NCC) in an MPA during the spawning season, while a fishery targeted at the sustainable Northeast Arctic cod stock (NEAC) operates immediately outside. In the period 2009-2016,>6800 cod from the fishery were genotyped with the PanI locus that is discriminatory between these two stocks. The estimated fraction of NEAC increased during the study period until 2014; however, it did not exceed 70% for any sustained period. Therefore, the MPA remained closed for commercial harvest. Genetic analysis of eggs revealed a distinctly lower fraction of NEAC than in the catch from the adult stock, both immediately outside and within the MPA itself. We suggest that this discrepancy is likely to reflect differences in spawning areas used by NCC and NEAC. Estimated fractions of NEAC/NCC using PanI, otolith classification, and 39 single nucleotide polymorphisms were similar, thus validating the use of PanI to estimate NEAC/NCC composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic population structure is often used to identify management units in exploited species, but the extent of genetic differentiation may be inflated by geographic variation in the level of hybridization between species. We identify the genetic population structure of Sebastes mentella and investigate possible introgression within the genus by analyzing 13 microsatellites in 2,562 redfish specimens sampled throughout the North Atlantic. The data support an historical divergence between the 'shallow' and 'deep' groups, beyond the Irminger Sea where they were described previously. A third group , 'slope,' has an extended distribution on the East Greenland Shelf, in addition to earlier findings on the Icelandic slope. Furthermore, S. mentella from the Northeast Arctic and Northwest Atlantic waters are genetically different populations. In both areas, interspecific introgression may influence allele frequency differences among populations. Evidence of introgression was found for almost all the identified Sebastes gene pools, but to a much lower extent than suggested earlier. Greenland waters appear to be a sympatric zone for many of the genetically independent Sebastes groups. This study illustrates that the identified groups maintain their genetic integrity in this region despite introgression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) has formed the basis of many economically significant fisheries in the North Atlantic, and is one of the best studied marine fishes, but a legacy of overexploitation has depleted populations and collapsed fisheries in several regions. Previous studies have identified considerable population genetic structure for Atlantic cod. However, within Norway, which is the country with the largest remaining catch in the Atlantic, the population genetic structure of coastal cod (NCC) along the entire coastline has not yet been investigated. We sampled > 4000 cod from 55 spawning sites. All fish were genotyped with 6 microsatellite markers and Pan I (Dataset 1). A sub-set of the samples (1295 fish from 17 locations) were also genotyped with an additional 9 microsatellites (Dataset 2). Otoliths were read in order to exclude North East Arctic Cod (NEAC) from the analyses, as and where appropriate. Results: We found no difference in genetic diversity, measured as number of alleles, allelic richness, heterozygosity nor effective population sizes, in the north-south gradient. In both data sets, weak but significant population genetic structure was revealed (Dataset 1: global FST = 0.008, P < 0.0001. Dataset 2: global FST = 0.004, P < 0.0001). While no clear genetic groups were identified, genetic differentiation increased among geographically-distinct samples. Although the locus Gmo132 was identified as a candidate for positive selection, possibly through linkage with a genomic region under selection, overall trends remained when this locus was excluded from the analyses. The most common allele in loci Gmo132 and Gmo34 showed a marked frequency change in the north-south gradient, increasing towards the frequency observed in NEAC in the north. Conclusion: We conclude that Norwegian coastal cod displays significant population genetic structure throughout its entire range, that follows a trend of isolation by distance. Furthermore, we suggest that a gradient of genetic introgression between NEAC and NCC contributes to the observed population genetic structure. The current management regime for coastal cod in Norway, dividing it into two stocks at 62°N, represents a simplification of the level of genetic connectivity among coastal cod in Norway, and needs revision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]