Book Description

Today, fishing is the main extractive utilize of wildlife in the world. In 2010, the annual capture, uniting both wild capture and aquaculture, was 149 million tons (FAO, 2012). As regards 94% of all freshwater fisheries occur in developing countries (FAO, 2007). They give food and a livelihood for millions of the world's poorest people, and also give to the overall economic security by earnings of export commodity trade, tourism and recreation. Even though freshwater fishes have a long history of human-induced introduction, recent globalization has enhanced worldwide introduction events even more, and those introduced fish species are now apparent to be a major risk to ecosystems. Over the last two decades, numerous studies have been published on introduced fish species; however, it has been demanding for researchers to understand the magnitude of the impact and the fundamental mechanism of offensive. Recently, new perspectives in understanding invasive freshwater fish biology have been presented in a number of studies, which can be largely attributed to advances in analytical techniques and also to a growing need for proactive analysis in management strategies. This book brings together the state of the art information contributed by renowned authors and field experts on varied aspects of fish and fisheries biology including the age, growth, length weight, fecundity, reproductive behavior feeding habits, and necessary environment for each freshwater species. The content covers on new ecological perspectives, the need for research, and/or management implications with emphasis on technological advances, including biochemical taxonomy and stock identification, genetics and genetic manipulation, physiology, functional morphology, behavior, ecology, fisheries assessment, development, exploitation and conservation. This guide is intended to act as a valuable information resource for advanced graduate students, environmental and fisheries professionals, naturalists, and educators on the use of fishes as biological indicators.