Population Production and Regulation in the Sea: A Fisheries Perspective

Description

How do fish populations regulate themselves? Why do some fish stocks flourish and then die away? These questions have fascinated fisheries scientists for decades, and in the last twenty years answers have begun to emerge. In this comprehensive account, David Cushing shows how the fate of fish larvae which live close to the centres of production in the sea has a crucial effect on population regulation. He shows how the timing and development of tidal fronts in particular regions has profound implications for fish and plankton production, which in turn affects fish recruitment. If recruitment of fish larvae into the pool of adult fish is insufficient, stocks may fail. It is only by understanding these processes that we can hope to recognise the implications of global climate change on marine populations. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in marine ecology and fisheries biology.

"Fresh look at this age-old enigma, for marine biologists and fishery biologists to ponder." Fisheries "...a comprehensive and current account of crucial linkages between the fate of marine fish larvae and subsequent population dynamics of juveniles and adults...a must-read for biological oceanographers and managers interested in fisheries population flucuations..." D. B. Eggleston, Choice "Students of marine ecology and working fisheries biologists will find this book to be a stimulating source of ideas and questions. The text is clear and concise and the graphs and figures are easy to understand. This well-written book provides a valuable tool for the resource manager in the form of a review of published research and an extensive bibliography of the key marine production literature of the last century. It also points to the future of fisheries research, which will require collaboration between biologists and oceanographers." Douglas Clay, Environments "The book is fascinating for its patient, detailed coverage...this volume is a major contribution to the study of a multidisciplinary issue in marine science...this book will find its most enthusiastic reception among professional oceanographers, fisheries scientists, and marine ecologists, for whom it should stimulate both discussion and collaboration." John J. Ney, The Quarterly Review of Biology