Sustainable Fishing Practices and Gear Innovations

Dear Colleagues,

Fisheries around the world are facing growing pressures from resource depletion, environmental change, and increasing concerns over safety at sea. Against this background, research on sustainable fishing practices and innovations in fishing gear and methods has become both timely and necessary.

This Special Issue focuses on research grounded in solid scientific evidence, particularly studies that address the development of innovative fishing gear and approaches that can be tested and applied in real fishing operations. The aim is not only to advance academic discussion but also to share findings relevant to fisheries management, policy, and day-to-day practice in the fishing sector.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Improvements in gear and fishing methods that enhance selectivity and reduce bycatch;
• Catch characteristics related to escape vents, mesh size, and changes in gear materials;
• Development and testing of biodegradable or environmentally friendly fishing gear;
• Technical and management approaches to reducing ghost fishing;
• Applications of AI, sensors, and automation in fishing operations and gear design;
• Gear design and operational practices that contribute to improved fisher safety;
• Experimental studies, field trials, modeling work, and research linked to policy or management.

Dr. Seonghun Kim
Dr. Subong Park
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.