# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and fisheries research Papers, Class of 2026

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## What topics and trends defined most-cited Marine and fisheries research research in the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 for Marine and Fisheries Research indicates a sharp rise in focus on climate resilience and conservation, with topics like Marine protected areas, Great Barrier Reef, and Reef recovery surging. Concurrently, broader stress indicators such as Marine heatwave and Thermal stress experienced declines, suggesting a shift from documenting thermal impacts to exploring actionable conservation and recovery strategies.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Marine and fisheries research |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 6,452 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Coral bleaching, marine heatwave, species range shifts, marine protected areas, overfishing |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 36–119 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators | Taryn M Garlock, Frank Asche, James L Anderson, Håkan Eggert, Thomas M Anderson, Bin Che, Carlos A Chávez, Jingjie Chu, Nnaemeka Chukwuone, Madan M Dey, Kevin Fitzsimmons, Jimely Flores, Jordi Guillen, Ganesh Kumar, Lijun Liu, Ignacio Llorente, Ly Nguyen, Rasmus Nielsen, Ruth B M Pincinato, Pratheesh O Sudhakaran, Byela Tibesigwa, Ragnar Tveteras | Frank Asche | Auburn University, United States | Nature Communications | 119 | 10.1038/s41467-024-49556-8 |
| 2 | Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea | Fernando S Paolo, David Kroodsma, Jennifer Raynor, Tim Hochberg, Pete Davis, Jesse Cleary, Luca Marsaglia, Sara Orofino, Christian Thomas, Patrick Halpin | Fernando Paolo | Global Fishing Watch, United States | Nature | 113 | 10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8 |
| 3 | <scp>Bio‐ORACLE</scp> v3.0. Pushing marine data layers to the <scp>CMIP6</scp> Earth System Models of climate change research | Jorge Assis, Salvador Jesús Fernández Bejarano, Vinícius Salazar, Lennert Schepers, Lidiane Gouvêa, Eliza Fragkopoulou, Frederic Leclercq, B. Vanhoorne, L. Tyberghein, Ester Á. Serrão, Heroen Verbruggen, Olivier De Clerck | Jorge Assis | Universidade do Algarve, Portugal | Global Ecology and Biogeography | 81 | 10.1111/geb.13813 |
| 4 | Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger | Benjamin J Henley, Helen V McGregor, Andrew D King, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Ariella K Arzey, David J Karoly, Janice M Lough, Thomas M DeCarlo, Braddock K Linsley | Benjamin J. Henley | University of Wollongong, Australia | Nature | 68 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x |
| 5 | Ecological erosion and expanding extinction risk of sharks and rays | Nicholas K Dulvy, Nathan Pacoureau, Jay H Matsushiba, Helen F Yan, Wade J VanderWright, Cassandra L Rigby, Brittany Finucci, C Samantha Sherman, Rima W Jabado, John K Carlson, Riley A Pollom, Patricia Charvet, Caroline M Pollock, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Colin A Simpfendorfer | Nicholas K. Dulvy, Nathan Pacoureau | Simon Fraser University, Canada | Science | 65 | 10.1126/science.adn1477 |
| 6 | Global shark fishing mortality still rising despite widespread regulatory change | Boris Worm, Sara Orofino, Echelle S Burns, Nidhi G D'Costa, Leonardo Manir Feitosa, Maria L D Palomares, Laurenne Schiller, Darcy Bradley | Boris Worm | Dalhousie University, Canada | Science | 54 | 10.1126/science.adf8984 |
| 7 | Ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity: Applying a scientific framework to assess real marine protected area progress against the 30 by 30 target | Elizabeth P. Pike, Jessica MacCarthy, Sarah O. Hameed, Nikki Harasta, Kirsten Grorud‐Colvert, Jenna Sullivan‐Stack, Joachim Claudet, Bárbara Horta e Costa, Emanuel J. Gonçalves, Angelo Villagomez, Lance Morgan | Elizabeth P. Pike | Marine Conservation Institute  Seattle Washington USA, United States | Conservation Letters | 53 | 10.1111/conl.13020 |
| 8 | MFGTN: A multi-modal fast gated transformer for identifying single trawl marine fishing vessel | Yanming Gu, Zhuhua Hu, Yaochi Zhao, Jianglin Liao, Weidong Zhang | Zhuhua Hu | Hainan University, China | Ocean Engineering | 53 | 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.117711 |
| 9 | Stock assessment models overstate sustainability of the world’s fisheries | Graham J Edgar, Amanda E Bates, Nils C Krueck, Susan C Baker, Rick D Stuart-Smith, Christopher J Brown | Graham J. Edgar | University of Tasmania, Australia | Science | 51 | 10.1126/science.adl6282 |
| 10 | Cumulative risk of future bleaching for the world’s coral reefs | Camille Mellin, Stuart Brown, Neal Cantin, Eduardo Klein-Salas, David Mouillot, Scott F Heron, Damien A Fordham | Camille Mellin | University of Adelaide, Australia | Science Advances | 50 | 10.1126/sciadv.adn9660 |
| 11 | The critical role of coral reef restoration in a changing world | Raquel S. Peixoto, Christian R. Voolstra, Iliana B. Baums, Emma F. Camp, James R. Guest, Peter L. Harrison, Phanor H. Montoya-Maya, F. Joseph Pollock, David J. Smith, Daniel Wangpraseurt, Anastazia T. Banaszak, Apple Pui Yi Chui, Nirmal Shah, Tom Moore, Katharina Fabricius, Tali Vardi, David J. Suggett | Raquel S. Peixoto, Christian R. Voolstra, Tali Vardi, David J. Suggett | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia | Nature Climate Change | 46 | 10.1038/s41558-024-02202-z |
| 12 | Selective breeding enhances coral heat tolerance to marine heatwaves | Adriana Humanes, Liam Lachs, Elizabeth Beauchamp, Leah Bukurou, Daisy Buzzoni, John Bythell, Jamie R K Craggs, Ruben de la Torre Cerro, Alasdair J Edwards, Yimnang Golbuu, Helios M Martinez, Pawel Palmowski, Eveline van der Steeg, Michael Sweet, Alex Ward, Alastair J Wilson, James R Guest | Adriana Humanes | Newcastle University, United Kingdom | Nature Communications | 45 | 10.1038/s41467-024-52895-1 |
| 13 | Atmospheric CO2 emissions and ocean acidification from bottom-trawling | Trisha B. Atwood, Anastasia Romanou, Tim DeVries, Paul Lerner, Juan Mayorga, Darcy Bradley, Reniel B. Cabral, Gavin A. Schmidt, Enric Sala | Trisha B. Atwood | Utah State University, United States | Frontiers in Marine Science | 44 | 10.3389/fmars.2023.1125137 |
| 14 | Marine heatwaves disrupt ecosystem structure and function via altered food webs and energy flux | Dylan G E Gomes, James J Ruzicka, Lisa G Crozier, David D Huff, Richard D Brodeur, Joshua D Stewart | Dylan Gomes | Oregon State University, United States | Nature Communications | 43 | 10.1038/s41467-024-46263-2 |
| 15 | Records reveal the vast historical extent of European oyster reef ecosystems | Ruth H. Thurstan, Hannah McCormick, Joanne Preston, Elizabeth C. Ashton, Floris P. Bennema, Ana Bratoš Cetinić, Janet Brown, Tom C. Cameron, Fiz da Costa, David Donnan, Christine Ewers, Tomaso Fortibuoni, Eve Galimany, Otello Giovanardi, Romain Grancher, Daniele Grech, Maria Hayden‐Hughes, Luke Helmer, K. Thomas Jensen, José A. Juanes, Janie Latchford, Alec B. M. Moore, Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos, Pernille Nielsen, Henning von Nordheim, Bárbara Ondiviela, C. T. Peter, Bernadette Pogoda, Bo Poulsen, Stéphane Pouvreau, Callum M. Roberts, Cordula Scherer, A.C. Smaal, David Smyth, Åsa Strand, John Α. Theodorou, Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen | Ruth H. Thurstan | University of Exeter, United Kingdom | Nature Sustainability | 43 | 10.1038/s41893-024-01441-4 |
| 16 | Over 80% of the European Union’s marine protected area only marginally regulates human activities | Juliette Aminian-Biquet, Sašo Gorjanc, Jennifer Sletten, Timothé Vincent, Anastasiya Laznya, Natașa Văidianu, Joachim Claudet, Juliette Young, Bárbara Horta e Costa | Juliette Aminian-Biquet | INRAE, France | One Earth | 39 | 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.010 |
| 17 | Increasing disturbance frequency undermines coral reef recovery | Michael J. Emslie, Murray Logan, Peran Bray, Daniela M. Ceccarelli, Alistair J. Cheal, Terry P. Hughes, Kerryn A. Johns, Michelle J. Jonker, Emma Kennedy, James T. Kerry, Camille Mellin, Ian Miller, Kate Osborne, Marji Puotinen, Tane H. Sinclair‐Taylor, Hugh Sweatman | Michael J. Emslie | Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia | Ecological Monographs | 38 | 10.1002/ecm.1619 |
| 18 | Climate change is an important predictor of extinction risk on macroevolutionary timescales | Cooper M Malanoski, Alex Farnsworth, Daniel J Lunt, Paul J Valdes, Erin E Saupe | Cooper Malanoski, Erin E. Saupe | Oxford University, United Kingdom | Science | 37 | 10.1126/science.adj5763 |
| 19 | New global area estimates for coral reefs from high-resolution mapping | Mitchell Lyons, Nicholas Murray, Emma Kennedy, Éva Kovács, Carolina Castro‐Sanguino, Stuart Phinn, Rodney Borrego Acevedo, Alexandra Ordoñez Alvarez, Chantel Say, Paul Tudman, Kathryn Markey, Meredith Roe, Robert Canto, Helen Fox, Brianna Bambic, Zoë Lieb, Gregory P. Asner, Paulina M. Martin, David Knapp, Jiwei Li, Matthew Skone, Eldan Goldenberg, Kirk Larsen, Chris Roelfsema | Mitchell Lyons | University of Queensland, Australia | Cell Reports Sustainability | 36 | 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100015 |
| 20 | Fishing for oil and meat drives irreversible defaunation of deepwater sharks and rays | Brittany Finucci, Nathan Pacoureau, Cassandra L Rigby, Jay H Matsushiba, Nina Faure-Beaulieu, C Samantha Sherman, Wade J VanderWright, Rima W Jabado, Patricia Charvet, Paola A Mejía-Falla, Andrés F Navia, Danielle H Derrick, Peter M Kyne, Riley A Pollom, Rachel H L Walls, Katelyn B Herman, Bineesh Kinattumkara, Charles F Cotton, Juan-Martín Cuevas, Ross K Daley, Dharmadi, David A Ebert, Daniel Fernando, Stela M C Fernando, Malcolm P Francis, Charlie Huveneers, Hajime Ishihara, David W Kulka, Robin W Leslie, Francis Neat, Alexei M Orlov, Getulio Rincon, Glenn J Sant, Igor V Volvenko, Terence I Walker, Colin A Simpfendorfer, Nicholas K Dulvy | Brittany Finucci | National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), New Zealand | Science | 36 | 10.1126/science.ade9121 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

In the Class of 2026, marine and fisheries research is predominantly characterized by studies on climate impacts and ecosystem management. The most frequent topics include Coral bleaching, Marine heatwave, and Species range shifts, reflecting an intense focus on how marine environments respond to changing climate conditions. Additionally, topics like Marine protected areas and Overfishing are highly prevalent, indicating that researchers are heavily invested in actionable conservation strategies and sustainable fisheries management. The prominence of these topics suggests a dual focus on understanding environmental stressors and implementing protective measures to safeguard vulnerable marine ecosystems.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

The transition to the Class of 2026 highlights a distinct pivot towards specific conservation areas and recovery mechanisms. Topics such as Great Barrier Reef, Marine protected areas, and Reef recovery emerged rapidly, alongside an increased focus on Overfishing. Conversely, broader stress indicators like Marine heatwave, Thermal stress, and Sea surface temperature experienced significant declines. This evolution underscores a broader trend in marine research: a move from broadly documenting the occurrence of thermal stress and heatwaves towards localized conservation efforts and evaluating the effectiveness of protective strategies in mitigating these impacts.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and fisheries research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-fisheries-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-17.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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