Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishoholic
any truth to what some people say about the really big fish 50+ carry eggs that aren't any good? I've always been skeptical but curious..
|
Well since we'll never really get to know just how big and just how old they can get (because of legal harvesting) there's no way to gauge whether a fish is "sterile" or "barren" after a specific age or size. If you look at poulty, the hens just stop producing eggs after a certain age, so if you were able to translate that to fish terms, as long as the fish produces eggs, she's still capable. Maybe not willing, but capable.
Look at the salmon fisheries. They use broodstock salmon up to a certain age, then release them as part of the stocking program. They haven't stopped producing eggs, just that they have a limited lifespan, so the odds are that they will stop sooner than later.
This brings me back to the lifespan of stripers. Since we really don't know their full lifetime potential, all that we get are speculations.