Grouping groupers in the Mediterranean: Ecological baselines revealed by ancient proteins

Marine historical ecology provides a means to establish baselines to inform current fisheries management. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are key species for fisheries in the Mediterranean, which have been heavily overfished. Species abundance and distribution prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. To reconstruct the past biogeography of Mediterranean groupers, we investigated whether Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can be used for identifying intra-genus grouper bones to species level. We discovered 22 novel, species-specific ZooMS biomarkers for groupers. Applying these biomarkers to Kinet Hoyuk, a Mediterranean archaeological site, demonstrated 4000 years of regional Epinephelus aeneus dominance and resiliency through millennia of fishing pressures, habitat degradation and climatic changes. Combining ZooMS identifications with catch size reconstructions revealed the Epinephelus aeneus capacity for growing 30 cm larger than hitherto documented, revising the maximum Total Length from 120 to 150 cm. Our results provide ecological baselines for a key Mediterranean fishery which could be leveraged to define and assess conservation targets.

Automated summary

Marine historical ecology provides baselines for fisheries management; The groupers play a crucial role in Mediterranean fisheries and have been overfished; Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can be used to identify grouper species; 22 novel ZooMS biomarkers for groupers were discovered; Research on an archaeological site revealed the dominance and resilience of Epinephelus aeneus in the Mediterranean for the past 4000 years despite fishing pressures, habitat degradation, and climate changes; Reconstructing catch size also showed that Epinephelus aeneus can grow 30 cm larger than previously documented.