Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman
There are conflicting views on this matter. On the surface it appears that big fish will produce more...well in general that is true but as a fish moves beyond its peak fecundity age its eggs are not as ripe as a younger fish. Most other species have trouble reproducing when they get old. (A 19 year old hottie vs a 75 year old grandma) I know fish reproduce through-out their life but if you have ever opened up a 20#er and a 50#er you will see the color of the eggs in the 50 are indeed different, some look dead. I am not a fish biologist but I would rather bet the biomass future of a species on three 20#ers than one 60#er. As I think 3 20's will produce more than 1 60 and also, If the 60 dies for any reason, you have nothing. If a single 20 dies, you still have 2 more. IMO More is better in this case.
Again I am no expert but I like the idea of protecting everything instead of a subset.
Lastly, Fishery guys have proven they don't know jack%$%$%$%$. If they did we would not have the problems we have now. They have been managing fisheries for decades without results.
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I think a more valid point is that if you remove the largest fish from the gene pool and release all the small fish, your removing any fish that may be genetically geared to grow big. While some of the the smaller fish may be wired to be small..