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Article: Reproductive changes from overfishing. (researchers fear the decreasing spawning age of stressed fish such as cod, flounder and haddock may threaten health of fish populations)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- December 16, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Before the collapse of cod fisheries off Canada's maritime provinces recently, annual harvests often removed 60 percent of the older adults. That was three times the recommended amount to sustain healthy stocks, notes Edward A. Trippel of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. In many species of overexploited fish-including haddock, flounder, and cod-females have responded by beginning to spawn at an earlier age. While rebuilding the stocks rapidly, this response poses population risks, he argues in the December BioScience.
In some cod stocks over the last 20 years, for instance, the age at first spawning has been nearly halved-from 5 ...