Abstract:With the increase of fishing intensity, fish gradually evolve to adapt in response to fishing pressures to maintain the reproduction of the population. This process is called fishing-induced evolution (FIE). Nowadays, many fish in the world have evolved these biological characteristics. For example, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) and other fish became smaller size and earlier mature. These lead to further the simplification of fish population structure, the decline of ecosystem stability and the reduction of fishing economic benefits, finally FIE seriously affects the sustainable development of fish resources in many countries. Therefore, it is essential to recognize the fishing-induced adaptive evolution and grasp the mechanism of fishing effects on fish resources, in order to formulate a scientific and rational strategy for recovery and management of fishing resources. Although FIE has caused wide concerns, the mechanisms underlying the impact of fishing on physiological, ecological and genetic characteristics of fish are not clear, especially in the dynamic environment of climate change and multi-species interactions. The role of FIE is more complex due to a number of influencing factors and the complex evolutionary process. The existing studies mainly focus on fishing-induced changes in fish biological traits, computer-simulated population resilience and fish resource management strategies, but rarely on the mechanisms of FIE. Here, we reviewed the main research methods of fish FIE including methods of field ecology, experimental ecology, numerical simulation, and genetics. We summarized the related research results that fishing affects fish body length, sexual maturity, behavior and other factors, by selecting the larger individuals caught by the most important kind of fishing, bottom trawling, and analyzed the effects on the fish population recovery and management of fish stocks. Finally, we concluded that the key scientific problems to be solved, in order to provide help for further FIE research and scientific management of fish resources.
