Deep-Sea Demersal Fish and Fisheries

Book excerpt: This book deals with the bottom-living fishes of the world's largest ecosystem, the deep-sea. After a brief review of the oceanographic setting, the diversity and ecology of this unique ichthyofauna are considered in detail. The book goes on to deal explicitly with slope fisheries, both developed and developing. The interaction of the ecology of the species involved (examples include orange roughy, grenadier, Greenland halibut and black scabbardfish) with fishing practices and management regimes is then discussed. An ecological framework for management is necessary for the resources to be sustainable it is argued, rather than simply extending approaches used on the Continental Shelf to the deep-sea.