Eggs And Larvae Of North Sea Fishes

This guide presents the egg and larval descriptions of 150 species of fishes belonging to 57 families, which are most likely to be present in plankton samples collected in the continental shelf and oceanic waters off northwest Africa. The guide is structured in two parts. The first introductory part describes the different applications of ichthyoplankton studies in fisheries research and management, and fish population ecology, the main sampling strategies, methods and gears, and the problems related to sample representativeness. It also describes the early life history of fishes, and how to identify them. A brief description of the hydrography of the study area is also presented. The second part of the guide features the species identification sheets. Each species sheet includes the following information: an illustration of the adult fish and information on its distribution, habitat, spawning season, and meristic characters; a description of the main features useful towards identifying the egg, yolk-sac and larval stages; and illustrations and photos of different larval stages. Finally, the guide provides a comprehensive list of references.

Plans for an International Symposium on the Early Life History of Fish were first discussed in 1967 at the F. A. O. Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research {A. C. M. R. R. }. It was considered that studies on fish eggs and larvae were of value in estimating the size of fish stocks, in appraising the stock-recruitment relationship, and in helping to answer questions on the systematics and taxonomy of fish. An A. C. M. R. R. Working Party recommended in 1969 that a Symposium should be held and after discussion with the International Associa tion of Biological Oceanography {I. A. B. O. } Dr. J. H. S. Blaxter of the Scottish Marine Biological Association {S. M. B. A. } agreed to con vene the meeting with the help of a steering committee. Various in ternational agencies were interested in the meeting and agreed to sponsor it in various ways. These agencies included F. A. O. , I. A. B. O. , the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea {I. C. E. S. } and the Scientific Committee for Oceanic Research {S. C. O. R. }. In the final event F. A. O. supported the meeting by publishing the abstracts beforehand, providing travel funds for participants and publishing a report after the meeting. I. A. B. O. and S. C. O. R. provided travel funds and the Royal Society of London and S. M. B. A.

THE LARVAL LIFE AND HISTORY OF MARINE FISHES.