Stock Identification Methods

Stock Identification Methods provides a comprehensive review of the various disciplines used to study the population structure of fishery resources. It represents the worldwide experience and perspectives of experts on each method, assembled through a working group of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The book is organized to foster interdisciplinary analyses and conclusions about stock structure, a crucial topic for fishery science and management.

Technological advances have promoted the development of stock identification methods in many directions, resulting in a confusing variety of approaches. Based on central tenets of population biology and management needs, Stock Identification Methods offers a unified framework for understanding stock structure by promoting an understanding of the relative merits and sensitivities of each approach.

• Describes eighteen distinct approaches to stock identification grouped into sections on life history traits, environmental signals, genetic analyses, and applied marks
• Features experts' reviews of benchmark case studies, general protocols, and the strengths and weaknesses of each identification method
• Reviews statistical techniques for exploring stock patterns, testing for differences among putative stocks, stock discrimination, and stock composition analysis
• Focuses on the challenges of interpreting data and managing mixed-stock fisheries

Fishery scientists and managers; students studying fish biology and related aquatic sciences.

I. INTRODUCTION Overview Definition of Management Units, Stock Units, and Populations Migration and the Stock Concept Environmental versus Genetic Influence on Identification Characters

II. LIFE HISTORY TRAITS Distribution of Life Stages Life History Parameters

III. NATURAL MARKS-MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSES Morphometric Outlines Morphometric Landmarks Texture Methods Meristics

IV. NATURAL MARKS-ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNALS Parasites as Biological Tags Fatty Acid Profiles

V. NATURAL MARKS-GENETIC ANALYSES Chromosome Morphology Allozymes Mitochondrial DNA Microsatellites Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Amplified Length Polymorphic DNA (AFLP)

VI. APPLIED MARKS Internal and External Tags Electronic Tags Otolith Thermal Marking

VII. STOCK IDENTIFICATION DATA ANALYSIS Stock Identification Data Requirements in Quantitative Assessments Statistical Algorithms for Stock Composition Analysis Discriminant Function Analysis Neural Networks in Classifying Biological Populations Maximum Likelihood Estimators of Stock Composition Non-parametric Methods of Estimating Classification Variability Analysis of Tagging Data

VIII. APPLICATION OF STOCK IDENTIFICATION DATA IN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Application of Stock Identification Data in Resource Management The Role of Stock Identification Data in Formulating Fishery Management Advice Identifying Fish Farm Escapees Real Time Application of Stock Identification Information