Fish Population Dynamics and Stock Assessment

Book excerpt: Fisheries tend to collapse because of fleet over-capacity, leading to harvesting the stocks of fish beyond their ability to recover. On the other hand, fish stocks may also be under-utilized because of fleet under-capacity. The fishery managers have to strike a balance by directly controlling the fishing capacity (input control) and/or by setting restrictions on the catch (output control). The key factor in the success of striking this balance is the application of fisheries management based on scientific advice coming from results of stock assessment models. This book entitled "Fish Population Dynamics and Stock Assessment" has been written to meet the requirements of graduate, post graduate students, researchers and scientists in fish stock assessment. Written in a textbook form, this book encompasses the knowledge of principles of stock assessment, sampling techniques, age determination, growth parameters, mortality parameters, gear selection, stock assessment models, fisheries management etc. If this book could help and guide the students and researchers, we shall feel amply rewarded. The book contains 16 chapters that have been explained very clearly with numerous illustrative examples, leaving no scope for confusion.