Crazy idea, but what about fishing-driven evolutionary pressure. If all the biggest fish are getting caught and killed, won’t that give smaller fish an evolutionary advantage?
Very possible, but with all things happening it’s pretty hard to be sure it’s that and not fish growing less because they’re being poisoned by microplastics.
Maybe if we’re talking line fishing, but I’m pretty sure most commercial fishing is done with trawling nets, where everything above a certain size is caught.
Crazy idea, but what about fishing-driven evolutionary pressure. If all the biggest fish are getting caught and killed, won’t that give smaller fish an evolutionary advantage?
Given nature’s survival of the fittest, you miiight be onto something.
He’s not. It’s the big fish that avoid getting caught.
Very possible, but with all things happening it’s pretty hard to be sure it’s that and not fish growing less because they’re being poisoned by microplastics.
For sure. That’s probably just a +1 on to the factors you already listed.
I would list that under overfishing
Nailed it. Exactly the answer I read in an article way back when. Commented on it above.
Remove the big fish, only the smaller ones that came to maturity faster get to reproduce.
Fishing is a little bit different than that. It’s the big fish who are able to avoid getting caught, which is how they get to live to be so big.
Maybe if we’re talking line fishing, but I’m pretty sure most commercial fishing is done with trawling nets, where everything above a certain size is caught.