Acceleration of assessment of fish populations and comparative studies of similar taxonomic groups

Proper assessment of the impact of fishing on the various fish populations is essential for the efficient management of the fishery resources of the country. Three types of assessment have been distinguished. A preliminary assessment just indicates if fishing is affecting the stock. The second type of assessment predicts long-term effect of fishing on a stock without taking into consideration the effect of fluctuating environmental factors. The final type, which is obviously the ultimate objective of all assessments, takes into account changing environment in forecasting the effect of fishing on a stock. Various diagnostic characters and parameters needed to be estimated for each type of assessment are indicated. Quicker methods of estimating some of the parameters are indicated. The role of comparative study of similar taxonomic group for such estimation of some of the parameters has been mentioned