Europe has a long tradition of exploiting marine fishes and is promoting marine economic activity through its Blue Growth strategy. This increase in anthropogenic pressure, along with climate change, threatens the biodiversity of fishes and food security. Here, we examine the conservation status of 1,020 species of European marine fishes and identify factors that contribute to their extinction risk. Large fish species (greater than 1.5 m total length) are most at risk; half of these are threatened with extinction, predominantly sharks, rays and sturgeons. This analysis was based on the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European regional Red List of marine fishes, which was coherent with assessments of the status of fish stocks carried out independently by fisheries management agencies: no species classified by IUCN as threatened were considered sustainable by these agencies. A remarkable geographic divergence in stock status was also evident: in northern Europe, most stocks were not overfished, whereas in the Mediterranean Sea, almost all stocks were overfished. As Europe proceeds with its sustainable Blue Growth agenda, two main issues stand out as needing priority actions in relation to its marine fishes: the conservation of marine fish megafauna and the sustainability of Mediterranean fish stocks.arine fishes exhibit high biodiversity 1,2 and have been culturally and nutritionally important throughout human history 3 . Europe, in particular, has a well-documented history of exploiting marine fish populations, written records of which commence in the classical works of ancient Greece. Although this historical exploitation has undoubtedly altered populations 4,5 and changed many seascapes 6 , marine defaunation in the region has not been as great as in terrestrial systems 7 . However, the use of ocean space and resources is increasing due to Europe's Blue Growth strategy 8 , the nutritional requirements of an expanding human population are growing 9,10 and marine ecosystems will experience unusually rapid changes in future due to climate change 11,12 . Consequently there are imminent threats both to European marine biodiversity and fish resources 13 . It is important, therefore, to assess the threats of extinction to fish species and to ensure consistency in the management approach by the various agencies involved.We analysed data on the conservation status of 1,020 species of Europe's marine fishes from the recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments 14 to identify characteristics that make Europe's fishes most susceptible to extinction risk. We then compared the Red List with 115 fish stock assessments (of 31 species) made by intergovernmental agencies charged with providing advice on the exploitation of commercial fishes. Previous comparisons of this sort applied criteria under various modelling assumptions [15][16][17] or limited the comparison to biomass reference points 18 . ResultsOf the 1,020 European marine fish species that were asses...

International audience* The status of marine biodiversity in the Eastern Central Atlantic (ECA), especially of coastal and pelagic fishes, is of concern owing to a number of threats including overharvesting, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change combined with inadequate policy responses, legislation, and enforcement.ăă* This study provides the first comprehensive documentation of the presence, status, and level of extinction risk, based on IUCN Red List assessment methodology, for more than 1800 marine species, including all taxonomically described marine vertebrates (marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, fishes); complete clades of selected marine invertebrates (sea cucumbers, cone snails, cephalopods, lobsters, reef-building corals); and marine plants (mangroves, seagrasses).ăă* Approximately 8% of all marine species assessed in the ECA are in threatened categories, while 4% are listed as Near Threatened, 73% are Least Concern, and 15% are Data Deficient. Fisheries and overharvesting are the biggest threats to living marine resources in the ECA, with 87% of threatened species across all taxonomic groups affected by both large- and small-scale targeted fisheries, excessive capture as by-catch, or unsustainable harvest.ăă* The results of this study will transform the current state of knowledge and increase capacity for regional stakeholders to identify and enact marine conservation and research priorities, as a number of species are identified as having high conservation and/or research priorities in the region.ăă* Through the process of marine species data collection and risk assessments conducted over the past 5 years, several key conservation actions and research needs are identified to enable more effective conservation of marine biodiversity in the ECA, including increased governance, multilateral collaboration, taxonomic training, and improved reporting of fisheries catch and effort

© 2 0 1 7 M a c m i l l a n P u b l i s h e r s L i m i t e d , p a r t o f S p r i n g e r N a t u r e . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

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