Importance in fishery management of leaving big ones
Birkeland C and Dayton P. 2004. Importance in fishery management of leaving big ones
Two key assumptions in fishery management, that eggs and larvae are produced of equal quality within a population and that sports fishing has a relatively minor impact on stocks, are often false. Older fishes produce larvae with substantially better survival potential, provide exponentially greater fecundity, greater genetic heterogeneity, and a broader spawning season that allows a better chance of larvae to encounter food, The severe impact of recreational fishing comes through selectively taking big ones.