It’s the big fish who can save the community. Scientists have defied the old thought that all eggs and larvae have the same odds of survival, regardless of their parents’ size. Recent studies show that the biggest fish are the most valuable for maintaining the population. The trophy fish that anglers dream of landing are crucial for saving the fish populations. Thus, the fishery managers should rethink the common policy of chasing the big fish and letting the tiddlers go. This is what Charles Birkeland at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and Paul Dayton at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California have found. They have thoroughly reviewed the effects of fishing on populations.
Via: New Scientist