Scientometric Analysis of Fisheries Science Studies of Western Atlantic Species of Paralichthys (Paralichthyidae: Pleuronectiformes)

ABSTRACT

Flounders of the genus Paralichthys are important resources for artisanal and industrial fisheries and for aquaculture. Scientometric analysis of the literature on 11 Western Atlantic species of Paralichthys available in two scientific databases, ISI Web of Science and SciELO, was conducted, concentrating on documents relating to fisheries science. The 414 articles identified focused predominantly on two species found only in Canada and the United States, Paralichthys dentatus (46.1% of the studies) and Paralichthys lethostigma (32.1%). The third most commonly studied species was Paralichthys orbignyanus (11.7%), found only off Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Fisheries science studies comprised 20% of the total (81 articles) and were completed mainly in the United States (84%), followed by Argentina (8.6%) and Brazil (two articles; 2.5%). The number of articles on aquaculture of Paralichthys surpassed all other areas of study and focused on the species of greatest economic interest. The literature revealed that aquaculture is the primary motive for research on this genus, especially in the last three decades, with a view toward commercial fish farming or repopulating the stocks of P. dentatus, P. lethostigma, and P. orbignyanus rather than an interest in extractive fishing of these species.

KEYWORDS:

• Marine fisheries
• linguados
• flatfishes
• fisheries statistics
• scientometry

Acknowledgments

This contribution is part of the D.Sc. requirements of Sergio Ricardo Santos in the Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The authors thank Márcio Macedo for help with the figures. The authors also thank Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sandra Shumway for offering helpful comments that improved the article. The authors thank Dr. Janet W. Reid for the scientific editing of English language. Sergio Ricardo Santos also thanks the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for financial support.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the Coordena¸ão de Aperfei¸oamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Funda¸ão Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) for financial support