HAVKYST-Havet og kysten

Fishing does not affect all fish equally. Evolutionary changes ensue whenever there are survival differences between genotypes. As fishing is often intensive, the resulting changes can be rapid. Recent work suggests that significant evolutionary changes i n maturation are common in the wild and have occurred in just few decades. Assessing the consequences of these changes to sustainability of current fishing practices is a major challenge for scientists and resource managers. Given the immense value of ren ewable marine resources, we cannot merely observe evolution happening - sustainable, precautionary management calls for proactively evaluating the consequences of fisheries-induced evolution as well as the feasible management actions that may be used to t ackle this challenge. This project aims at developing and utilizing a set of tools that can be used to address this scientific and managerial challenge. Specifically, we resort to mathematical and laboratory models that allow exploration and hypothesis te sting in comparatively short time and with no risk to the real resources: * We develop a set of structured population models that yield realistic eco-evolutionary predictions for selected stocks (herring, blue whiting and cod) and provide platform for mor e general hypothesis and scenario testing on effects and manageability of fisheries-induced evolutionary changes. * The aforementioned models are coupled with ocean circulation models that trace the young along their paths to nursery areas evaluating thei r growth and survival prospects on the way. This allows studying the potentially conflicting selection pressures from natural environment and fishing. * Finally, we set up a pilot study to develop two laboratory model systems, one with zebra fish and the other with water fleas. The advantage of the former more closely resembles commercial fishes and linkage to molecular genetic studies; the latter has faster life cycle and greater experimental control.