Development of a prediction model based on linear regression to estimate the success rates of seafood caught from different catching centers

For businesses and organizations that aim to be efficient and competitive on a worldwide basis, food quality assurance is extremely important. To maintain constant quality, global markets demand high food hygiene and safety standards. Intelligent software to assure fish quality is uncommon in the fishing industry. Most seafood processing industries utilize Total Quality Management (TQM) systems to ensure product safety and quality. These protections ensure that significant quality risks are kept within acceptable tolerance limits. However, there are no ways for calculating the success rates of seafood obtained from different catching centers. The purpose of this study is to develop algorithms for predicting the success rates of seafood caught at different catching centers. To determine the best model to match the data, the algorithms employ the Least-Square Curve Fitting approach. The success rates are predicted using the best-fit model that results. The bestFitModelFinder algorithm is used to find the best model for the input data, while the prediction of quality algorithm is used to predict the success rate. The algorithms were tested using data obtained from a seafood company between January 2000 and December 2019. Statistical metrics such as mean absolute deviation (MAD), mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) are used to evaluate the prediction accuracy of the presented algorithms. The algorithms' performance analysis resulted in lower error levels. The proposed algorithms can assist seafood enterprises in determining the quality of seafood items sourced from various fishing areas.

The Direct and Indirect Effects of a Global Pandemic on US Fishers and Seafood Workers

The United States' seafood industry experienced major shifts in consumer demand and COVID-19 social-distancing restrictions starting in March 2020, when the early stages of the pandemic were unfolding. However, the specific effects on workers across seafood value chains are less well known. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), fishers and seafood workers face an increased risk of workplace exposure to COVID-19 given the close proximity to others in processing facilities and on fishing vessels, long work hours, and communal housing, living, and transportation arrangements associated with seasonal employment. To explore this hypothesis, and given a lack of data on the sector, we reviewed news articles, scientific articles, and white papers to identify the various effects of COVID-19 on US seafood workers and to track COVID-19 cases and outbreaks. Here, we show that most COVID-19 cases among seafood workers were reported during the summer of 2020 and during the beginning of 2021 with outbreaks primarily occurring in seafood processing. COVID-19 cases were documented throughout coastal areas, with Alaska experiencing the largest number of cases and outbreaks. Based on news reports, seafood workers were about twice as likely to contract COVID-19 as workers in other parts of the overall US food system. By examining news articles and scientific literature, we also documented a number of indirect effects of the pandemic. Social-distancing restrictions limited crew size and number of workers on processing lines, resulting in longer work hours and more physical and mental taxation. Economic consequences of the pandemic were reportedly a primary concern for fishers and aquaculture businesses, including changes in markets, supply and demand, in addition to revenue loss, price fluctuations, supply chain issues, and labor shortages. Fewer outlets interviewed workers in seafood processing; however, concerns about workplace safety, contracting COVID-19, access to medical services, vaccination, and paid sick leave were all noted. We also highlight a number of inequities in COVID-19 responses within the seafood sector, both along racial and gender lines. Peer-reviewed studies and news coverage all point to diverse direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers across seafood value chains. The summary of these effects can serve as a foundation for future work on infection control and occupational outreach to workers in the seafood sector.

Anti-Allergic Effect of Low Molecular Weight Digest from Abalone Viscera on Atopic Dermatitis-Induced NC/Nga

Abalone viscera (AV) is one of the byproducts of the seafood processing industry. The low molecular weight (<5 kDa) peptides (LMW-AV) obtained from gastrointestinal digestion of AV could suppress allergenic responses on activated HMC-1 human mast cells in our previous study. Regarding the allergenic response of LMW-AV, in the present study, we further investigated the potential of oral administration of LMW-AV against atopic dermatitis (AD) in a dermatitis-induced model stimulated with Dermatophagoides farinae. The results demonstrated that the LMW-AV reduced a number of clinical symptoms, such as the severity of the dermatitis and serum immunoglobulin E levels. Moreover, LMW-AV could inhibit the expression of chemokines and cytokines. The histological analysis indicated that the LMW-AV has suppressed the eosinophil count and the mast cell infiltration into the upper dermis. The results suggest that LMW-AV can be considered as a promising candidate for AD treatment.

Preface

Pandemic COVID-19 has hardly impacted global fisheries and aquaculture, as FAO reported in the 34th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in February 2021. FAO further suggests that this pandemic impact catalyzes the fisheries sector to be more innovative, socially, and environmentally responsible. Fish and fisheries products are well-known healthy food. It contains high quality and quantity of protein and provides essential vitamins and minerals to maintain human health status. The innovation of science and technology in the fisheries sector is a crucial point to improve and assure the efficiency and sustainability of the production and utilization of the resource. Research activities and development should be synergically conducted to implement technologies that benefit the communities. Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, holds a biennially international symposium to provide access and exchange of research data and fisheries experience to support the transfer of knowledge and technology to strengthen the world’s fisheries sector. The 4th International Symposium on Marine and Fisheries Research (The 4th ISMFR) aims to bring together academic scientists, researchers, government institutions, private parties, and stakeholders to share and exchange progress information, experiences, and research results in all aspects of marine and fisheries sciences. The 4th ISMFR theme was promoting sustainable fisheries through technology and research innovation for a healthy community”. It covered a broad spectrum of fisheries-related topics, including aquaculture, fish disease, fish genetics, biotechnology, marine natural product, seafood processing technology, seafood safety, fisheries biology, fisheries resources management, fisheries socio-economics, oceanography, climate sciences, and marine ecotoxicology. Due to the Pandemic COVID-19, the 4th ISMFR was held virtual on July 28-29, 2021, by using the Zoom Meeting platform. We cannot postpone this symposium because it is a routine schedule for researchers and stakeholders to disseminate and discuss their research findings. The seminar’s organizing committee was located in the Fisheries Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Management of the symposium was carried out using the website (http://ismfr-ugm.org/). The symposium consists of a plenary session and parallel presentation sessions. The plenary session presented three keynote speakers, namely Professor Rashid Sumaila from The University of British Columbia (Canada), Professor Erlinda R. Cruz Lacierda from The University of the Philippines Visayas (Philippines), and Professor Soottawat Benjakul from The Prince of Songkla University (Thailand). A total of six parallel presentation sessions was conducted with 12 invited speakers and presenters from eight countries, namely Norway, Belgium, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Presentations in each parallel class were divided into presentation panels consisting of approximately five presenters. Each presenter was given 10 minutes for presentation and discussion. Discussion sessions were held at the end of each forum for about 15 minutes. A total of 146 scientific papers have been presented at the 4th ISMFR. The 4th ISMFR was attended by 155 participants. All presenters and attendances join the symposium virtually from their respective residences. Readers can access recordings of the 4th ISMFR Plenary session on the YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGtjnoR3hSo&t=7599s). This proceeding provides an opportunity for readers to gain more information from the reviewed papers that have been presented in the 4th ISMFR. The articles published in this proceeding were selected from the papers presented in the symposium. The reviewers from six countries (Philippines, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia) and the editors from four countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia) have participated in the abstracts screening, improving, and finalizing the manuscripts. The proceedings divided into three sections, namely aquaculture, aquatic resource management, and fish product technology. From this proceeding, readers will find recent research finding on broad aspects of fisheries and marine sciences to come up with new knowledge and idea to promote sustainable fisheries through technology and research innovation for a healthy community. We want to thank all parties for the success of the 4th ISMFR. Our gratitude is presented to the organizing committee, keynote and invited speakers, reviewers, editors, and editing staff for the dedication, hard work, and tireless efforts in implementing the symposium and publication process. We express our acknowledgment to the Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, the Head of Fisheries Department, and the Publication Agency of Universitas Gadjah Mada, who provided continuous support on the symposium. Our thank you also conveyed to the speakers and participants, who have given their best efforts to disseminate, discuss, and publish papers. We also thank all parties who have contributed to the success of the 4th ISMFR and the publication. We sincerely hope readers will find notable pieces of knowledge on fisheries and marine science from different points of view. Chief Editor List of committees of the 4th ISMFR, List of Editors of the 4th ISMFR proceeding, Documentation of the 4th ISMFR are available in this pdf.

Rhino Conjunctivitis and Asthma Among Seafood Processing Workers in Greenland. A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: The fishing- and the seafood processing industries are the largest industrial sectors in Greenland. Despite this, only a few cases of occupational diseases in this industry have been reported to the Danish Labor Market Insurance. Occupational asthma and allergy are well-known occupational diseases in the seafood processing industry worldwide and underreporting of occupational diseases in Greenland is suspected.Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the associations between job exposures and occupational asthma and rhino conjunctivitis in workers in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry and to compare the prevalence of sensitization by type and degree of exposure to snow crab, shrimp, fish, and the fish parasite, Anisakis simplex.Methods: Data from 382 Greenlandic seafood processing workers were collected during 2016–2018. Data included questionnaire answers, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, and blood samples with ImmunoCAP. For all analyses, p &lt; 0.05 was considered the level of significance.Results: 5.5% of the workers had occupational asthma and 4.6% had occupational rhino conjunctivitis. A large proportion of the workers were sensitized to allergens specific to the workplace; 18.1% to snow crab, 13.6% to shrimp, 1.4% to fish, and 32.6% to the fish parasite, A. simplex. We found a dose-response relationship between the risk of being sensitized to snow crab and A. simplex and years of exposure to the allergens in the seafood processing industry.Conclusion: This study showed that a considerable proportion of workers in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry had occupational asthma and rhino conjunctivitis. Additionally, the study showed high sensitization levels toward snow crab, shrimp, and the fish parasite, A. simplex. This supports the hypothesis of a considerable degree of underreporting of occupational allergic airway disease in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry. Prospectively, it is important to inform workers, leaders, and health care professionals of the health problems and the law on worker's compensation, and to initiate preventive actions at factory and trawler level.