"Big fish create more big fish"

[solopaddler]

Absolutely. Freaks of nature aside, the maximum size a fish will attain is determined partly by genetics, partly by the environment it lives in.

 

 

Pretty much how I feel as well.

 

Regarding environment one interesting theory is that lakes that have had intense angling pressure for years, where generations of trophy fish have been harvested, have developed a population of smaller fish. Fish that in a nut shell have changed genetically to only grow to a certain size because otherwise they'll be harvested.

 

There's tons of info on this floating around out there, here's one study:

 

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7802

[Sharkbait22]

Big fish do make big fish. By fishing and removing the large fish you can get harvest-induced evolution. This is where fish spawn at an earlier age. Spawning at an earlier age means you limit growth in body size earlier in life for the production of expensive eggs. Why do you want to spawn earlier? Because you might get harvested. We should likely remove the younger smaller fish to avoid this? A big fish from Erie is different than a big fish from Timmins.

 

V. Thériault, E.S. Dunlop, U. Dieckmann, L. Bernatchez, and J.J. Dodson. 2008.

The impact of fishing-induced mortality on the evolution of alternative life-history tactics in brook charr. Evolutionary Applications 1: 409-423.

 

E.S. Dunlop, B.J. Shuter, and U. Dieckmann. 2007.

Demographic and evolutionary consequences of selective mortality: Predictions from an eco-genetic model for smallmouth bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136: 749-765.

 

C. Jørgensen, K. Enberg, E.S. Dunlop, R. Arlinghaus, D.S. Boukal, K. Brander, B. Ernande, A. Gårdmark, F. Johnston, S. Matsumura, H. Pardoe, K. Raab, A. Silva, A. Vainikka, U. Dieckmann, M. Heino, and A.D. Rijnsdorp. 2007.

Managing evolving fish stocks. Science 318: 1247-1248.

 

Older fish also make better eggs. At some point in their life they don't make as many eggs per pound but still way more than a little first time spawner. There are likely more environmental factors that determine taste than just fish size or age. Also, any cook can screw up a good fish.

[Joeytier]

That's all great stuff. Thanks.

[Freshtrax]

Big fish also eat the small weak fish. Survival of the fittest

[chris.brock]

Pretty much how I feel as well.

 

Regarding environment one interesting theory is that lakes that have had intense angling pressure for years, where generations of trophy fish have been harvested, have developed a population of smaller fish. Fish that in a nut shell have changed genetically to only grow to a certain size because otherwise they'll be harvested.

 

There's tons of info on this floating around out there, here's one study:

 

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7802

I agree,

 

other studies have shown that even if the harvest pressure is reduced or stopped altogether, the population might not rebound, individual size wise and population density wise

 

the cod fishery in Atlantic Canada is a good, well documented example of this

Edited December 12, 2012 by chris.brock