Fisherman tend to hunt the biggest and fattest fish because of the bigger paycheck and more bragging rights. But sometimes that biggest fish you had ever seen is a Mama fish. A new study shows that if you hunt the biggest fish, especially if it's a female, that species might disappear. The bigger and older the female fish, the more eggs she can lay. Bigger females produce more babies than smaller fish because they can make and hold more eggs. Big female fish are more important than their smaller counterparts because they contribute more to the future generation. If you hunt female fish, you can affect their population.
Bigger and older Mama fish are more important to the ecosystem than smaller fish because they are an egg-making powerhouse. Larger and older females can hold more eggs. They are already done growing, so they can put more energy into making eggs. Bigger females not only produce more eggs, but larger eggs which means larger babies. The females pack their larvae with more energy which gives their babies a size and development advantage. Also older and wiser females lay their eggs in different places over a long period of time. This is clever because instead of dispersing their eggs throughout the ocean, the younger, smaller females lay their eggs all in one place, which are vulnerable to a predator attack.
I didn't know that bigger fish are more than just more meat until I read this article, But, we tend to catch larger fish. Our nets are designed to trap larger fish, which is not good because it alters the size of the fish population. Reducing larger fish means that there will be more smaller fish producing smaller and fewer babies, which means there is fewer fish in the ocean. We need to stop hunting bigger female fish and to do that, we need to understand how big of an impact larger females can have on the ecosystem.
Source:http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/catching-big-mama-fish-curbs-ocean-fertility/
Article by Marah J. Hardt on November 6,2014
Bigger and older Mama fish are more important to the ecosystem than smaller fish because they are an egg-making powerhouse. Larger and older females can hold more eggs. They are already done growing, so they can put more energy into making eggs. Bigger females not only produce more eggs, but larger eggs which means larger babies. The females pack their larvae with more energy which gives their babies a size and development advantage. Also older and wiser females lay their eggs in different places over a long period of time. This is clever because instead of dispersing their eggs throughout the ocean, the younger, smaller females lay their eggs all in one place, which are vulnerable to a predator attack.
I didn't know that bigger fish are more than just more meat until I read this article, But, we tend to catch larger fish. Our nets are designed to trap larger fish, which is not good because it alters the size of the fish population. Reducing larger fish means that there will be more smaller fish producing smaller and fewer babies, which means there is fewer fish in the ocean. We need to stop hunting bigger female fish and to do that, we need to understand how big of an impact larger females can have on the ecosystem.
Source:http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/catching-big-mama-fish-curbs-ocean-fertility/
Article by Marah J. Hardt on November 6,2014