Dynamic Geography Of Marine Fish Populations

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 1995 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.

This book serves as an advanced text on fisheries and fishery population dynamics and as a reference for fisheries scientists. It provides a thorough treatment of contemporary topics in quantitative fisheries science and emphasizes the link between biology and theory by explaining the assumptions inherent in the quantitative methods. The analytical methods are accessible to a wide range of biologists, and the book includes numerous examples. The book is unique in covering such advanced topics as optimal harvesting, migratory stocks, age-structured models, and size models.