Fisheries-induced evolution adds a bonus to good management

A new study published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is the first to determine whether genetic changes resulting from fishing pressure have any significant economic effects for the case of Atlantic cod. The study shows that evolutionary changes allow the individual fish to grow faster and mature earlier, which increases stock productivity and revenue for the fishermen. However, if harvesting pressure is particularly high, genetic changes turn bad and cause economic costs.

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