Dec 12, 2025
Global relationships between sargassum and fisheries: a scoping review protocol
- Aline Goncalves Barbosa1,
- Maria Elisa de Paula Eduardo Garavello1
- 1University of São Paulo
- AGB
Protocol Citation: Aline Goncalves Barbosa, Maria Elisa de Paula Eduardo Garavello 2025. Global relationships between sargassum and fisheries: a scoping review protocol. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.kqdg31r1pl25/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: December 11, 2025
Last Modified: December 12, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 234820
Keywords: Fishing, Artisanal fishing, coastal communities, sargassum, brown algae, pelagic sargassum, global relationships between sargassum, coastal livelihood, fishery, scientific interest in the genus sargassum, central activity for coastal livelihood, genus sargassum, human communities in coastal environment, sargassum, coastal environment, ecological function, environmental disruption
Funders Acknowledgements:
FAPESP
Grant ID: 2023/12355-0
Abstract
The growing scientific interest in the genus Sargassum stems both from its ecological functions and from the diverse relationships it establishes with human communities in coastal environments. Across different regions, these interactions range from benefits to negative impacts associated with massive influx events. Fisheries, a central activity for coastal livelihoods, have been directly affected by these dynamics, whether through environmental disruptions or emerging opportunities. Considering this context, a scoping review is proposed, following JBI and PRISMA guidelines, and using consolidated scientific databases to map the existing literature on the topic, examine how it has been addressed, and identify knowledge gaps. This effort aims to contribute to the visibility and advancement of the discussion, as well as to guide future research.
Attachments
Table 1.pdf
54KB
Guidelines
The Scopus review will be conducted following the guidelines of the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2020) and the specific methodological recommendations proposed by Peters et al. (2020). The review will employ the PRISMA flow diagram and checklist to ensure transparency and methodological rigor.
Troubleshooting
Before start
All retrieved studies will be imported into Zotero software to organize references and identify duplicates. The screening process will be conducted using Rayyan software, following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines: (1) screening based on titles and abstracts, and (2) full-text screening. In both stages, excluded studies will be documented according to the exclusion criteria. The screening process will involve at least two reviewers, and any disagreements will be resolved through consensus.
Methodology
The Scopus review will be conducted following the guidelines of the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2020) and the specific methodological recommendations proposed by Peters et al. (2020). The review will employ the PRISMA flow diagram and checklist to ensure transparency and methodological rigor.
The search strategy will follow JBI (2020) recommendations and will begin with an initial exploratory search in at least two databases, using different combinations and variations of terms and keywords to identify the most effective search expressions for the review.
In the second stage, a comprehensive search will be conducted across multiple databases using the selected combinations of keywords, free terms and Boolean operators.
In the third stage, additional references will be identified through backward citation searching using the reference lists of the included studies, as well as through searches of grey literature, in accordance with JBI (2020) and Peters et al. (2020).
Identification of a research question
To assess the suitability of the research question for a scoping review, we utilised the PCC framework, which stands for Population, Concept, and Context. The research question is: What have we published about the interaction and relation between sargassum and fishing and how this has been studied?
PCC structure
P (Population): fishing activities, with focus on artisanal fishing
C (Concept): algaes of the genus Sargassum
C (Context): Fishing activities at different oceanographic and coasts regions of the world and their interaction with Sargassum.
Search strategy
The research was conducted using the databases: Academic Google, Scopus, Scielo, ScienceDirect, Web Of Science and the platform R. Discovery (scientific database aggregator). The search isolate terms, boolean operator and term combinations used - in english, portuguese and spanish - are:
Artisanal fishing OR small scale fisheries OR small scale fishing OR coastal fisheries OR coastal fishing OR fisheries AND sargassum OR sargassum bloom OR pelagic sargassum OR sargassum influx OR golden tide
Selection of eligible studies
Inclusion criteria: Studies that examine the relationship or interactions between Sargassum and fisheries, including ecological, social, or economic impacts. Articles, theses/dissertations, and technical reports will be included.
Language: English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Time period: No time restrictions will be applied in order to broaden the scope of the mapping.
Grey literature: Thesis, reports.
Exclusion: Purely taxonomic studies on Sargassum with no relation to fisheries or any socio-environmental aspect; studies that address fisheries but not Sargassum; studies that address neither topic; documents without accessible full text.
Data Extraction
To the extraction of data were elected five groups of themes (table 1): general information, locality, sargassum, fishing and other activities. Inside of each one, were elected important points for extraction and discussed in the research.
The validation and extraction will be done by consensus.
Data Analysis and Synthesis
The analysis will be carried out through the systematization, by tabulation, of the main information from the studies, based on the categorized themes. From the analysis of the results, a discussion will be proposed regarding the trends identified in the approaches and the knowledge gaps to be further explored within the topic.
Presentation of Results
The work will be structured around a discussion of how the interaction occurs globally. To this end, visual resources such as graphs, maps, and tables will be used to enhance the visibility of the results and illustrate the distribution of the studies across the identified categories.
Protocol references
Berkes F. Sacred Ecology. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge; 2012.
FAO. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2022.
Franks JS, Johnson DR, Ko DS. Pelagic Sargassum in the tropical North Atlantic. Gulf Caribb Res. 2016;27(1):SC6–SC11.
García-Sánchez M, Rivera-Monroy VH, Twilley RR, Castañeda-Moya E, Coronado-Molina C, Echeverría-Ávila S. Environmental impacts of Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean. 2020.
Joanna Briggs Institute. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. 2020.
Milledge JJ, Harvey PJ. Golden tides: Problem or golden opportunity? The valorisation of Sargassum from beach inundations. J Appl Phycol. 2016;28(6):2999–3018.
Peters MDJ, Godfrey CM, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil H. Guidance for the conduct of JBI scoping reviews. JBI Evid Synth. 2020.
Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O’Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA-ScR: Checklist and explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(7):467–73.