Question of the Day: Regeneration of Fish

Question of the Day developed by William Prothero.

Question:

Graphs of fish populations

The two figures shown above are from the The Fishing Game (more info) game. They show the number of new fish per year that are added to the fish "stock," depending on the maximum number of fish that the "fishery" can support. The second figure shows how many fish a ship will catch, depending on the fish density.

  1. Explain the "Regeneration of Fish" figure. Why is it peaked at about 60%?


  2. How is this figure a simplification of the way fish stocks grow? Are there other factors that depend on fish species or ocean conditions that will affect the regeneration of fish?


  3. The "Ship Effectiveness" figure shows how many fish a ship will catch, depending on how many fish there are in the "stock." What other real world factors will affect the number of fish caught?


References and Notes:

Question of the Day is a method used by Dr. William Prothero in his Oceanography Course at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Question of the Day page with more examples and tips on using them is part of the Starting Point: Interactive Lectures Module.