Proceedings Of The International Symposium On North Pacific Flatfish

In October 1994, 65 researchers gathered in Anchorage for the International Symposium on North Pacific Flatfish. Flatfish are a major part of the ecosystem, but because they do not bring in big dollars on the fisheries market, they are often an ignored resource. The first opportunity for North Pacific flatfish scientists to share information internationally, the symposium provided a perspective for planning ecosystem research.

Fascinating and instantly recognisable, flatfishes are unique in their asymmetric postlarval body form. With over 700 extant species recognised and a distribution stretching across the globe this group of fishes are of considerable research interest and provide a major contribution to recreational and commercial fisheries, and to aquaculture, worldwide. Flatfishes: Biology and exploitation is the only comprehensive and current book in the field and responds to the economic importance and growing body of research to produce an invaluable addition to the Fish and Aquatic Resources Series providing: Outlines of systematics, distribution, reproduction, recruitment, ecology and behaviour Descriptions of the major fisheries and their management Full coverage of recent advances in aquaculture and stock enhancement This book is essential reading for fish biologists; fisheries scientists; marine biologists; ecologists and environmental scientists; aquaculture personnel and government workers in fisheries and fish and wildlife departments. It should be found in all libraries of research establishments and universities where biology, fish biology, fisheries, aquaculture, marine sciences, oceanography, ecology and environmental sciences are studied or taught.

This comprehensive text is a major synthesis on ecological change in the Gulf of Alaska. It encompasses the structural and annual changes, forces of change, long-ecological changes in the atmosphere and ocean, plankton, fish, birds and mammals, and the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. With 5 major sections, Long-term Ecological Change in the Northern Gulf of Alaska first describes the physical features, the atmosphere and physical oceanography, the annual production cycle, the forage base for higher animals and trophic transfer, and the adaptations for survival in this changing environment for 9 portal species. Then, the major forces of change are introduced: climate, geophysics, fisheries and harvesting, species interactions, disease and contaminants. Next, the long-term records of change in physical factors and biological populations are presented, as well as the potential reasons for the biological changes. Following is the history of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its long-term effects. And, finally, the emergent properties of the ecosystem are discussed and an attempt is made to weigh the importance of the major forcing factors in terms of their temporal and spatial scales of influence. * Examines important data on long-term change in the ecosystem and the forcing factors that are responsible for it * Provides an account of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill with emphasis on the long-term effects * Describes the effects of climate change, geophysical change, species interactions, harvesting, disease, the 1989 oil spill, and marine contaminants on key populations of marine organisms